CHAVEZ-U. S. THREATENED BY LEFTIST LEADERS

Feb 3, 11:43 PM (ET)
By VANESSA ARRINGTON

HAVANA (AP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, receiving a U.N. prize handed over by Fidel Castro on Friday, said Washington was right to be concerned by Latin America's tilt to the left because it represents a threat to the U.S. "empire."

Chavez was visiting Havana amid an intensifying propaganda war between Washington and Latin America's leftist leaders. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld compared Chavez to Adolf Hitler and warned darkly Thursday about populist leadership in Bolivia and Cuba.

"They are right to be worried, because they know what's happening here," Chavez said in a speech lasting more than 2 1/2 hours after accepting his prize. "They will forever try to preserve the U.S. empire by all means, while we will do everything possible to shred it."

Some 200,000 Cubans crowded Revolution Plaza for Friday night's ceremony granting Chavez UNESCO's 2005 Jose Marti International Prize. Cuban President Castro himself handed over the framed certificate to Chavez, a close ally.

The forum gave Castro and Chavez a chance to pat each other on the back and promote regional solidarity while bashing the U.S. government. Thousands of young Venezuelans, Bolivians and other Latin Americans studying medicine for free in Cuba attended the ceremony, screaming their support for both leaders.