Chavez on WikiLeaks: US abuses ‘great friend’ Putin

President Hugo Chavez said Thursday the WikiLeaks disclosures revealed the ‘dirty war’ US embassies wage around the world and how the US abuses Venezuela’s “great friend” Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.”

“Have you seen the WikiLeaks that are coming out?” Chavez asked a group of flood victims in the city — more than 30 people have been killed the last few days across Venezuela in the worst floods in 40 years.

“They are coming out with the dirty reports and the dirty war the Yankee embassies wage around the world. See how they abuse even the leaders of powerful nations; how they abuse that great friend of ours Vladimir Putin. They disrespect him!”

Chavez said the scathing US diplomatic cables spare few international leaders.

“They also disrespect (Russian) President (Dmitri) Medvedev and the Chinese. The entire world!

“Imagine where that leaves us. There’s nothing they won’t say about us: that we’re lower than dirt,” Chavez said.

The whistle-blower website WikiLeaks has released a flood of confidential US memos in recent days that detail controversial diplomatic incidents and include indiscreet remarks from world leaders.

Some cables have US diplomats referring to Russia as a “virtual mafia state,” calling Putin an “alpha dog” and saying that Medvedev plays “Robin” to Putin’s “Batman.”

Chavez also addressed US concerns revealed by WikiLeaks over the growing influence in Venezuela of Cuban intelligence agents.

“They say they’re worried about the Cubans’ presence in Venezuela… the Cubans came here because this is the homeland of all Cubans and Cuba is also the homeland of all of us” Venezuelans, he said.