Venezuela says it ends efforts for better U.S. ties
(Reuters) - Venezuela said it was ending efforts to improve ties with Washington after the Obama administration's nominee for envoy to the United Nations vowed to oppose what she called a crackdown on civil society in the "repressive" OPEC nation.
In an echo of the many bust-ups between the two countries during the late Hugo Chavez's 14-year rule, President Nicolas Maduro has demanded an apology and said the United States had no moral right to criticize his government.
The foreign ministry said Samantha Power's remarks had contradicted "in tone and content" what it said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told his Venezuelan counterpart, Elias Jaua, at a rare meeting just last month.
"The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is terminating the process that was started during the conversation in Guatemala, which was aimed at regularizing our diplomatic relations," the ministry said late on Friday in a statement.
Maduro has often clashed with Washington since he narrowly won an election in April that was triggered by the death of his mentor Chavez from cancer.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/20/us-venezuela-usa-idUSBRE96J07C20130720