Chavez

Chavez indifferent about meeting Obama

President Hugo Chavez says that he was totally indifferent about meeting US President Barack Obama at a Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago

"The reason I'm attending the summit is not that Obama's there. I couldn't care less if he is there or not, if we see each other or not," Chavez told reporters at a public event in Caracas.

Chavez said he would go to the upcoming summit to "defend the integration of the Caribbean and Latin America and demand that the empire Obama leads lift its blockade of Cuba, abide by UN resolutions and condemn Israel."

It is still unclear if the American president will attend the Latin American summit.

Chavez also repudiated Friday's US State Department report critical of Venezuela's human rights record, and said Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "should acknowledge" human rights violations in their own country and put a stop to them.

"I don't care what Obama or his secretary of state has to say. Away with them and their cynicism."

SG/HAR