Caracas withdraws from regional rights court

Venezuela announced on Wednesday that it was withdrawing from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) after the panel accused President Hugo Chávez's government of violating the rights of a man convicted of bombing the diplomatic offices of Spain and Colombia in Caracas.

"Venezuela is withdrawing from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights out of dignity, and we accuse them before the world of being unfit to call themselves a human rights group," said Chávez during a military ceremony.

On June 26, the IACHR ruled that the Venezuelan government was holding convicted bomber Raúl Díaz under deplorable conditions, which have greatly affected his health. Díaz was sentenced to nine years for the 2003 bombings.

Chávez accused the Costa Rica-based court of "siding with terrorists."

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan leader said that his government wants to maintain friendly business relationships with Spanish companies such as Repsol and shipbuilder Navantia, but said that it would depend on the "good political relations" with Spain's conservative government. Nevertheless, Chávez said that he couldn't understand why Repsol was suing the Argentinean government for expropriating YPF earlier this year.

"Picking on Argentina affects us because we are the same motherland," he said.