* President Hugo Chávez praised the role of the countries comprising the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), including Venezuela, in defeating the United States, Mexico and Canada plans to impose the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) during the fourth Summit of the Americas held last weekend in Argentina.

* Chávez' remarks came Sunday during his weekly radio and TV show "¡Aló, Presidente!" (Hello, President!), broadcast from the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas.

* In a show that exceeded four hours, Chávez underscored that his proposed Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) has defeated FTAA.

* He also seized the opportunity to address an impasse with Mexican President Vicente Fox. "He attacked me and I fought back. Fox was wounded. Do not mess with me, you can be pricked."

* In this sense, Chávez claimed that North American nations had a plan to "run over" the rest of the countries in the region. "FTAA is impossible to achieve, it is not feasible. Our peoples have already said no."

* The Mexican Foreign Affairs Office has decided to recall the Mexican Ambassador to Venezuela if Caracas does not apologize formally on Monday, said the spokesman for the Mexican Presidency Rubén Aguilar Valenzuela.

* Aguilar Valenzuela claimed that President Hugo Chávez' remarks on Sunday against President Vicente Fox are an "outrage for the dignity of the Mexican people and government, and Mexico demands a formal apology from the Venezuelan government on this Monday November 14. Otherwise, the Mexican government is to order the Venezuelan Ambassador (Vladimir Villegas) to leave and recall Mexican Ambassador in that country, thus downgrading bilateral relations to business missions."

* The official added that they expect Venezuela to apologize "through its highest authorities," but he clarified that even though ambassadors are recalled they do not have plans to severe bilateral relations. He set a deadline that expires Monday at midnight (Mexican time) for Venezuela to apologize.

* Sectors in Mexico have launched an anti-Venezuelan campaign in an effort to break off diplomatic relations with Venezuela, Venezuelan Minister of Integration and Foreign Trade Gustavo Márquez said.

* Márquez put the blame on Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda and expected the ongoing crisis resulting from a dispute between President Chávez and his Mexican counterpart Vicente Fox not to get worse, Efe quoted.

* "Relations between the Mexican and Venezuelan peoples, historically identified as brothers, are paramount. The disagreement should be considered finished," Márquez told official TV channel Venezolana de Televisión.

* The Venezuelan government thinks that the ultimatum from the Mexican government is an aggression that does not make sense, put the blame of the bilateral diplomatic crisis on Mexican President Vicente Fox and ordered Ambassador Vladimir Villegas to return immediately to Venezuela.

* Venezuelan Foreign Minister Alí Rodríguez accused President Fox of misleading information when stating that the Venezuelan government is hampering Latin American integration.

* "The stance taken by President Fox cannot be substantiated at all," the Foreign Minister said, and added that there has been no aggression or offense on the Mexican people.

* The Venezuelan Foreign Minister recited the events that unleashed the dispute with Mexico. "As soon as President Fox arrived in Mar del Plata, he made a first remark -as it were- but as a matter of fact he was disrespecting the Venezuelan position."

* The Mexican Foreign Affairs Office has decided to recall the Mexican Ambassador to Venezuela if Caracas does not apologize formally on Monday, said the spokesman for the Mexican Presidency Rubén Aguilar Valenzuela.

* Aguilar Valenzuela claimed that President Chávez' remarks on Sunday against President Fox are an "outrage for the dignity of the Mexican people and government, and Mexico demands a formal apology from the Venezuelan government on this Monday November 14. Otherwise, the Mexican government is to order the Venezuelan Ambassador (Vladimir Villegas) to leave and recall Mexican Ambassador in that country, thus downgrading bilateral relations to business missions."

* The official added that they expect Venezuela to apologize "through its highest authorities," but he clarified that even though ambassadors are recalled they do not have plans to severe bilateral relations. He set a deadline that expires Monday at midnight (Mexican time) for Venezuela to apologize.

* The Mexican government recalled the ambassador to Venezuela, President Fox told TV news channel CNN during an interview when realizing that Venezuela was to take a similar measure.

* "We requested apologies that had not been offered. Therefore, we set 24 hours as deadline to recall our ambassador. As a matter of fact, we will proceed accordingly," Fox said, as quoted by AFP.

* "No offense to our country can be accepted, and no offense to the Mexican people's dignity can be accepted. Therefore, the Mexican stance will be clear, sound, always striving to the best relations with all countries, yet some things cannot be stood."

* Mexican ex Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda urged Monday to break off relations and accused President Chávez of intervening in elections of some Latin American nations, Efe reported.

* Bilateral links should be radically broken, Castañeda told radio show "Enfoque" after Venezuelan Minister of Integration and Foreign Trade Gustavo Márquez expressed that he was behind an anti-Venezuela campaign.

* Venezuelan Ambassador to Mexico Vladimir Villegas Monday left Mexico optimistic and confident of a good outcome of the ongoing crisis.

* "I am optimistic. We, revolutionary, are optimistic in nature," the ambassador said during a press conference after being recalled.

* "Our historical relationship is not to be arrested," the diplomat reasoned and noted having received phone calls in solidarity from his Latin American colleagues and some Mexican politicians, AFP quoted.

* The Venezuela-Mexico diplomatic crisis was fabricated up there, Venezuelan ambassador to Mexico Vladimir Villegas told reporters, according to official news agency ABN.

* Villegas arrived in Venezuela early Tuesday after being discredited as diplomatic representative following an impasse between presidents Chávez and Fox.

* During an interview with official TV channel Venezolana de Televisión, Villegas maintained that political sectors and the media in Mexico spread a smear campaign against Venezuela.

* "A magazine virtually states that I belong to Al Qaeda, with presumed files and links with subversive organizations and a whole war of misinformation in Mexico before my arrival and which escalated upon my arrival."

* Mercosur member countries will make the their best efforts to get back to normal the relations between the governments of Mexico and Venezuela, and overcome the current conflict, Uruguayan Foreign Minister Reinaldo Gargano told Efe.

* "Unfortunately, Mexican-Venezuelan relations are not at their best now, but we will make our best efforts for this situation to vanish with the course of time and restore cordial relations between these countries which are our brothers," Gargano pointed out.

* Mexican ambassador to Venezuela Enrique Manuel Loaeza early on Tuesday departed from Caracas amid a diplomatic crisis facing the two countries, a spokesperson for the Mexican Embassy told AFP.

* "We are not offering a news conference, declarations or communiqués because the ambassador left the country early on Tuesday," the spokesman added.

* Deputy Saúl Ortega, the head of the National Assembly (AN) Standing Committee of Foreign Affairs, threatened to implement the Vienna Convention in the case of Mexican ambassador to Venezuela Enrique Loaeza.

* Under articles 2, 4 and 8 of the Convention, the envoy could not come back to Venezuela as long as President Chávez stays in office.

* In reply to a similar measure by the government of President Fox with Venezuelan Ambassador, Loaeza will not be able to fulfill diplomatic functions in Venezuela, the pro-government deputy said.

* He explained that a press release from the Mexican Secretary's Office advises Venezuela formally about the "request of immediate, final withdrawal of Ambassador Vladimir Villegas." According to the Vienna Convention, the Venezuelan chief of mission will not be able to return to Mexico during the incumbency of President Fox.

* Mexican President Vicente Fox Tuesday closed the chapter of diplomatic row with Venezuela and hoped the Mexican Foreign Affairs Office might "loosen" tense bilateral relations over the next few weeks.

* "For us, this is case closed now, and we hope relations to ease in the next few weeks or months to resume ties at the highest level," Fox' spokesman Rubén Aguilar told reporters.

* Foreign Minister Alí Rodríguez justified the comments by President Chávez during his Sunday TV and radio show by arguing that were in reply to a couple of remarks previously made by Mexican ruler Vicente Fox.

* "There is a real downpour of attacks on Venezuela on the media and in the political circles of ruling PAN party, even urging to break off every relation with Venezuela." In his view, Venezuelan sectors should replicate the action.

* "It was Mexico who took the lead and resolved to stay relations until receiving an explanation by Venezuela, and set also Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. as deadline. This is obviously an ultimatum, and we dismissed it for being disrespect."

* Venezuelan Vice-President José Vicente Rangel refrained himself from talking about the decision of the Mexican government on prohibiting the return of Vladimir Villegas as ambassador to that country, but he thinks that such a treatment between historically fellow countries "is not right."

* "I do not want to label it, let our Foreign Ministry to label it. But I think that such a treatment between historically fellow countries such as Mexico and Venezuela is not right," Rangel said.

* If Mexico keeps "unchanged" its demand for an apology from Venezuela, "it will be very difficult for us to reach an agreement," as such a petition is unacceptable, claimed Wednesday Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Rodríguez Araque.

* He ensured that Venezuela would "act with the adequate aplomb," but clarified that the Mexican move to discredit Venezuelan ambassador Villegas is still under consideration.

* Rodríguez said he called his Mexican counterpart Luis Ernesto Derbez to ask him for details on "the nature of the annulment of Villegas' credentials."

* Mexico is "keeping unchanged its request for a formal apology from the Venezuelan government," in the face of new harsh expressions from President Chávez against his Mexican counterpart Fox, the Mexican Foreign Affairs Office said late Wednesday in a brief communiqué.

* "The Foreign Affairs Office states that Mexico is keeping unchanged its request for a formal apology from the Venezuelan government, given offensive expressions against the Mexican people and government," the communiqué reads.

* "We are not at odds with Fox, but with (US President George W.) Bush. We always take the lead," Venezuelan Vice-President José Vicente Rangel said.

* Rangel expects the Venezuela-Mexico impasse to be overcome, but he noted that the solution is up to the Mexican government.

* "They railed on President Chávez and (Argentinean President Néstor) Kirchner, and then, they took the initiative of recalling ambassadors," the senior official added after a ceremony celebrating issuance of book "Cuba and Venezuela," authored by Cuban ambassador Germán Sánchez, at the Vice-President's office.

* Mexico is to ponder breaking relations with Venezuela if "President Chávez continues to offend the (Mexican) people," said Mexican President Fox' spokesman Rubén Aguilar late Thursday.

* "You know President Vicente Fox has said that if things continue this way, this possibility could be considered, but always as the last resort," Aguilar said in a phone interview from Pusan, Korea, where is accompanying President Fox.

* "An apology is required for the offenses of President Chávez against the people of Mexico," Aguilar added, as quoted by AFP.

* Mexican President Vicente Fox claimed that he is not picking a fight, but wants a formal apology from Venezuela after being called "a puppy of the empire " by his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez, DPA reported.