Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has made a brief stop in Haiti at the end of a tour of Latin America and the Caribbean in which he harshly criticized President Bush, who also is visiting the region.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is at odds with U.S. President George W. Bush, straining relations between their two countries. But opinion polls show Mr. Chavez has the support of most Venezuelans. It is backing he has received in large part because of his government's social programs. Simon Marks visited a Caracas slum recently to see how these programs are working and has this report.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has ordered the nationalization of oil projects run by foreign companies in Venezuela's Orinoco River region.

In late January, Venezuela's national assembly voted to allow President Hugo Chavez to rule by decree for an 18-month period. Since then, Mr. Chavez has moved quickly to nationalize the country's electricity and telecommunications sectors, confirmed plans to strip foreign companies of majority stakes in oil projects, and threatened to seize control of supermarkets and other retail outlets.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday the policies of Venezuela's populist leader Hugo Chavez are "destroying" the South American country. In congressional testimony, Rice said the ongoing U.S. feud with Mr. Chavez is deflecting attention from the good relationship the Bush administration has established with other leftist governments in the region.

Thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets Sunday to mark the 15th anniversary of a failed 1992 coup led by Hugo Chavez, who was then an army colonel.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has lashed out against President Bush, calling him a war criminal who should be imprisoned.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has defended his plan to pass legislation by decree, calling U.S. reservations about his actions unacceptable meddling in Venezuela's affairs.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday accused his nation's main telecommunications company of spying on him, apparently at the bidding of the United States.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he spoke with Fidel Castro a few days ago and that the Cuban leader is in a "battle for his life."

President Hugo Chavez said ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro asked him to keep it a secret that the two spoke by phone earlier this month so that others would not get jealous.

The U.S. State Department Tuesday expressed skepticism about the industrial nationalization plans of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The Bush administration has had a difficult relationship with the populist Venezuelan leader. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.