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Caracas: The United States imposed sanctions on Venezuelan officials on Friday, escalating a diplomatic crisis between Latin American leaders and Washington.
Washington said on Friday it was expelling the Venezuelan ambassador and imposed sanctions on Chavez aides, including Venezuela's former Interior Minister Ramon Rodriguez, for allegedly aiding rebels in Colombia.
The sanctions and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's threat to stop crude sales to the United States plunged ties between the superpower and one of its top energy suppliers.
Chavez had warned on Thursday that world crude prices would immediately double to above $200 a barrel if he cuts oil to the United States.
Tensions were already high after Chavez allowed two Russian long-range bombers to land in Venezuela and took Moscow's side in disputes over Georgia.
This week's crisis began when Bolivia expelled its US ambassador, accusing him of fuelling protests against leftist President Evo Morales, a close ally of Chavez.
In an expletive-laden tirade against "Yankees," Chavez ejected the US ambassador to Venezuela on Thursday and Honduras weighed in on Friday, blocking a US envoy from immediately taking up his post as ambassador.
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