American citizens could be denied visas to visit Venezuela in response to a U.S. decision to revoke the visas of three Venezuelan military officers, the vice president said Friday. Jose Vicente Rangel said Venezuela decided to take a harder line after the United States pulled the visas of three officers previously involved in anti-drug efforts with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. "The Venezuelan government ... will proceed quickly, with responsibility, but firmly to reciprocate in the cases of U.S. citizens who travel to our country," Rangel said at a news conference. The visas of three military officers, including two generals, who worked with the DEA were revoked after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused DEA agents of spying in Venezuela and said cooperation with the U.S. agency would be suspended. Three lower-ranking officers were put on a watch list, meaning they would be denied U.S. visas if they applied for them. U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield denied that DEA agents were involved in espionage. Rangel said DEA agents in Venezuela also worked with "unacceptable autonomy" while "detaining and interrogating Venezuelans" without notifying Venezuelan authorities.
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