The United States Plans to Expel Venezuela's Ambassador in DC In Response to Hugo Chavez's Decision To Expel US Envoy

The United States plans to expel Venezuela's ambassador in Washington to retaliate for President Hugo Chavez's decision to expel the U.S. envoy in Caracas, FOX News confirmed Friday.

The U.S. has also imposed sanctions on aides to Chavez in retaliation for his expulsion of the U.S. ambassador.

Venezuela has some of the largest oil reserves outside the Middle East and, despite Chavez's clashes with the Bush administration, he has maintained oil supplies and never before expelled a U.S. ambassador, Reuters reported.

Chavez said he will not restore relations with the U.S. until Bush leaves the White House in January, Reuters reported.

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Chavez ordered the U.S. ambassador to leave Venezuela within 72 hours on Thursday, accusing the diplomat of conspiring against his government and saying he would also withdraw his own envoy from Washington immediately.

Chavez made the move in solidarity with Bolivia after his Andean ally expelled the U.S. diplomat there, accusing him of aiding violent protests. He said a new American ambassador will not be welcome in Caracas "until there's a U.S. government that respects the people of Latin America," suggesting that diplomatic relations will be scaled back until President Bush leaves the White House.

Duddy, who was posted in Venezuela just last year, irritated Chavez last month when he lamented that U.S. and Venezuelan officials have not been cooperating in fighting drug trafficking. Deteriorating relations were giving cocaine smugglers the upper hand, he said.

The socialist president responded by warning that Duddy could soon be "packing his bags."

Simmering tensions between Venezuela and the U.S. began heating up even more this week after two Russian strategic bombers were deployed to the country at Chavez's invitation.

"The presence of those Russian planes in Venezuela is a warning," Chavez said Thursday. "There's nothing better to keep yourself from being attacked than to dissuade."

Hours before announcing the ambassador's expulsion, Chavez said his government had detained a group of alleged conspirators in a plot to overthrow him. He accused the group of active and former military officers of trying to assassinate him with backing from the United States.

Chavez has repeatedly accused Washington of backing plots to have him killed or ousted — and U.S. officials have repeatedly denied the allegations.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.