Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Porter Gross Thursday reaffirmed that electoral processes in several Latin American countries next year have turned them into "potential areas of instability," reported news agency AP.
 
He repeated his views on President Hugo Chávez, saying the Venezuelan head of State "is consolidating his power by using technically legal tactics to target his opponents and meddling in the region." Gross also raised an alarm that Chávez is "supported by [Fidel] Castro."
 
Gross named Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru as "potentially unstable countries," but Venezuela is at the top of the list.

The CIA director made these comments during a hearing before the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.