Chavez prevokes Peru

Washington Times:

Peru said yesterday it withdrew its ambassador to Venezuela for the second time this year over "persistent and flagrant interference" in the country's affairs by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
The Peruvian government cited Mr. Chavez's threat Friday to withdraw his ambassador to Lima and cut relations with Peru if former President Alan Garcia won the Peruvian presidential election. Mr. Chavez favors leftist Ollanta Humala.
"The Peruvian government has decided to withdraw its ambassador to the Republic of Venezuela with immediate effect, due to its persistent and flagrant interference in Peru's domestic affairs," the Foreign Ministry said.
Venezuelan officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mr. Chavez, a self-proclaimed socialist revolutionary sharply at odds with Washington, first clashed with Peru at the start of the year after openly backing Mr. Humala, who won the first round of the April 9 presidential election.
Peru temporarily withdrew its ambassador from Caracas on Jan. 5 after President Alejandro Toledo accused Mr. Chavez of "political meddling" in the election by supporting Mr. Humala.
Mr. Humala has pledged greater state intervention in Peru's free-market economy and to radically redistribute Peru's wealth in favor of the poor.
In Havana earlier yesterday, Mr. Chavez criticized both Mr. Garcia and Mr. Toledo as "crocodiles from the same water hole."

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Chavez substitutes insult for diplomacy. He is certainly adept at creating enemies where he does not need to. Since he has already made an enemy of the US, the more people he drives away from him, the better for the SU. He has already meddled in the Mexican election, indirectly boosting the more conservative candidate, because of his insults to Mexico and President Fox.