US evangelist Pat Robertson called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, saying that he was a "terrific danger" to the US and intended to become "the launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism."
Venezuelan officials called the statement "a call to terrorism".
Robertson is considered a close political ally to the US president and a fellow conservative Christian. He made the statement on the 700 Club television program, a Christian program aired across the world.
Venezuelans demanded that Bush condemn the remarks.
Chavez responded while on a recent visit to longtime US enemy Cuba, saying that the statements didn’t bother him in the least. "I don't even know who this person is."
Chavez is one of the American president's most vocal critics.
