Venezuela: Chavez appoints ally as defense minister

Gen. Henry Rangel Silva, the militarys strategic operations commander, will take over the ministry from Gen. Carlos Mata Figueroa, Chavez said in the central city of Guarane, where the president went to attend a church ceremony.Rangel, a former intelligence chief, angered Venezuelas opposition in late 2010 when he said in a newspaper interview that the military wouldnt accept an opposition victory in the 2012 presidential election. Chavez then further angered opposition politicians by promoting Rangel to general-in-chief.Rangel is one of four members of Chavezs inner circle that the US government put on its Foreign Narcotics Kingpins list in 2008. Washington accused them of helping drug gangs and supplying the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia with arms. The move froze any assets they might have in the United States and barred Americans from doing business with them.Chavez has denied the charges against his allies and has fiercely defended Rangel, calling him a revolutionary soldier.At the time, Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said the sanctions against the officials were part of an agenda of permanent aggression against Venezuela.Chavez has long been embroiled in tensions with the United States. US officials have repeatedly accused Venezuela of failing to take adequate steps to curb drug trafficking, while the socialist leader has accused Washington of acting as an imperial power and not respecting Veneauelas sovereignty.The US Embassy in Caracas has been without an ambassador since July 2010, with Chavez rejecting the US nominee for ambassador, Larry Palmer, and accusing him of making disrespectful remarks about Venezuelas government. That led Washington to revoke the visa of the Venezuelan ambassador.Chavez announced Rangels appointment after attending a special Mass in Guarane to keep a promise to the Virgin of Coromoto for aiding his recovery from cancer.