U.S. not finding allies against Venezuela's Chavez

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- The Bush administration is seeking a South American country to sponsor an OAS resolution condemning the Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chavez, but has come up empty-handed after two high-profile visits to the region. The pressure has been heaviest on Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a sometimes Chavez ally who has been sharply critical of the Venezuelan leader over his outspoken feud with the Untied States. But Mr. Lula da Silva, who says Brazil-Venezuela relations have never been closer, appears to have rebuffed such entreaties during visits to the country by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Another U.S. ally, Chile, also has shown little interest in a hard-line approach toward the Venezuelan leader, who has become a major backer of Fidel Castro's Cuba and regularly heaps scorn on the United States.

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