Thursday, July 8, 2004 Posted: 2347 GMT (0747 HKT)
Is the opposition asking Bush to help STEAL the Venezuela election?
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuela will restore friendly ties with its main oil client, the United States, and scale back relations with Cuba if opponents of President Hugo Chavez win a referendum on his rule and elections, an opposition leader said Thursday.
Alejandro Armas said the opposition, if elected to govern following a defeat for left-winger Chavez in the August 15 recall vote, would reshape his foreign policy, which has distanced Venezuela from the United States.
"Our political relations with the United States cannot be at odds with our economic relations," Armas told Reuters.
The opposition's blueprint for a post-Chavez government will be formally presented Friday. It calls for a foreign policy that "helps to restore confidence in Venezuela as a democratic nation and as a political and commercial partner."
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/07/08/venezuela.opposition.policy.reut/index.html