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Chavez demands respect from US, EU

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-07-20 16:12

MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has a message for future US and European leaders: Treat Latin America with respect.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez (2nd left, front) waves along side Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega to supporters at an event marking the 29th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution which overthrew Nicaragua's Somoza dictatorship in 1979, in Managua, Saturday, July 19, 2008. [Agencies]

Chavez says Washington and the European Union "must respect the sovereignty of the Latin American people."

Chavez also says a widely criticized new EU rule on illegal immigration will be a central part of his agenda during an upcoming European tour. He repeated previous warnings that Venezuela could expel investors from countries that apply the new rules.

Chavez spoke Saturday at a 29th anniversary celebration of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Honduras' Manuel Zelaya and Paraguay's President-elect, Fernando Lugo, also attended the festivities.