US says Venezuela apologized for incident with US lawmakers - Forbes.com
WASHINGTON (AFX) - The United States says that Venezuela has apologized for not allowing a US congressional delegation to enter the country, but Caracas denies that assertion.
'I'm not sure what version of events has come out from the Venezuelan government but I can tell you that they have apologized for what happened,' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, according to Agence France-Presse.
'So I'm not sure what they said prior to the apology but they have apologized for what happened.'
Hours earlier, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry denied the US delegation had been denied entry into the country.
According to a report received by the State Department, McCormack said, 'the delegation landed in Venezuela and they were not allowed to disembark according to the procedures that had been already agreed with under the Venezuelan government.'
He said American diplomats sought to fix the situation on Monday with the Venezuelan government, but were unable to, and after an hour and a half, the US delegation decided to leave.
The delegation was led by Republican Representative Henry Hyde, chairman of the House Committee on International Relations.
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said the decision was made exclusively by members of the US delegation and the US Embassy.
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