Venezuela's Chavez
Calls Bush "The Devil"
United States Against America
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
called Bush "the devil himself"
and told the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday
the U.S. president had left the smell of sulfur
hanging in the chamber
from his appearance the previous day
"The devil himself is right in the house. And the devil came here yesterday. Right here," said Chavez, who also called Bush a "world dictator."
Speaking from the same podium from which Bush had addressed the assembly on Tuesday, Chavez said "it smells of sulfur still today, this table that I am now standing in front of."
"The hegemonistic pretensions of the American empire are placing at risk the very existence of the human species," Chavez said. "We appeal to the people of the United States and of the world to halt this threat which is like a sword hanging over our heads."
"We're not going to address that kind of comic strip approach to international affairs," said John Bolton, the American ambassador to the United Nations while Frederick Jones, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said it was "not worthy of reaction."
Chavez has emerged as a thorn in Washington's side throughout Latin America, leading a resurgence of left-wing populism in the region.
Recently, he has expanded his role, seeking common cause with U.S. opponents worldwide. He has defended Iran's nuclear program and embraced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the Iranian's visit to Caracas on Sunday, just before the assembly began.
Chavez began his speech by displaying a copy of American writer Noam Chomsky's 2004 book "Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance" and recommending it to U.S. citizens and the assembled delegates.
He also said the domination of the U.N. Security Council by world powers had rendered the body worthless.
"I don't think anybody in this room could defend the system. Let's be honest. The U.N. system born after the Second World War collapsed. It's worthless," Chavez said.
Daniel Trotta/Reuters