Pat Robertson Says U.S. Should Kill Venezuela's Chavez Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) Television evangelist Pat Robertson told viewers the U.S. should kill Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to prevent the Latin American country from becoming a ``launching pad'' for extremism.
Chavez, 51, has repeatedly accused President George W. Bush of backing efforts to topple his government, a charge the U.S. denies. The U.S. has alleged Venezuela is using its oil to undermine democracy in Latin America. Venezuela, the U.S.'s fourth-largest oil supplier, has threatened to cut off supplies.
``We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability,'' Robertson said yesterday on the television program ``The 700 Club,'' AP reported.
The cleric founded the Christian Broadcasting Network, based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Killing Chavez, who is visiting Cuba, would be cheaper than starting a war, AP cited Robertson as saying. The U.S. can't allow Venezuela to become a ``launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism,'' he said, according to AP. (AP, 8-23) All life that God has created is sacred ...except the life of Chavez.