Venezuela expels prominent human rights activist

Venezuela expelled a prominent human rights activist on Thursday, saying he had committed serious offenses after he issued a critical report on the situation in the country. Earlier in the day, Vivanco presented a report for the US-based organization saying Venezuela's record on human rights has worsened under President Hugo Chavez.

"We aren't going to tolerate any foreigner coming here to try to sully the dignity" of Venezuela and its institutions, Maduro said.

The foreign minister said Vivanco, a Chilean who had arrived on a tourist visa, was driven to the airport and forced to leave the country on the first flight. He said Vivanco "has violated the constitution" and Venezuela's laws.

Vivanco was ordered to leave along with a Human Rights Watch deputy director, US citizen Daniel Wilkinson, Maduro said. He accused them of acting at the behest of the US government.

It was the first such expulsion by Chavez's government. The leftist leader has threatened previously that Venezuela could expel foreigners if they come to slander his government.

A government statement read on state television said Vivanco violated the law by "attacking the institutions" of Venezuela's democracy, and "illegally interfering in the internal affairs of our country."

The government condemned the Human Rights Watch report, which Vivanco presented at a Caracas news conference hours earlier. Vivanco told reporters that Chavez's government has "weakened democratic institutions and human rights guarantees" while trying to sideline the opposition and consolidate power.

The New York-based group criticized the government for intolerance, saying in the report that "discrimination on political grounds has been a defining feature of the Chavez presidency."

It said the government has "tolerated, encouraged, and engaged in wide-ranging acts of discrimination" against opponents and that Chavez has sometimes "openly endorsed acts of discrimination."

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