Don't mess with me, girl: Chavez tells Rice

Responding to Rice's remarks before the US Congress last week, the Venezuelan President warned the top US diplomat to back off.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has launched a new verbal attack against US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, bluntly warning her "don't mess with me, girl."

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Responding on Sunday to Rice's remarks before the US Congress last week in which she called the Venezuelan President a "challenge to democracy" in Latin America, Chavez warned the top US diplomat to back off.

"She messed with me again," he said in his weekly 'Hello President' television show, deliberately mangling her name as "Condolences." "Don't mess with me, girl."

Last week, after her US Congress testimony, Chavez dismissed Rice as "the imperial lady."

He vowed on Sunday that Washington would fail in its bid to arouse international opinion against Caracas, and accused the Bush administration of fomenting transit strikes and other unrest to destabilise his country.

"Venezuela is free and however much they may try to instigate internal movements here, we will defeat them," he said.

On Friday, Chavez had warned that he was taking steps to potentially cut off oil shipments to the United States if Washington attacks his country.