Western Hemisphere
US Ambassador to Venezuela Patrick Duddy said on Wednesday that his government seeks to "improve the relation with Venezuela," and renewed his appeal to "dialogue" between Venezuela and Colombia at a time of "high tension."

"We have said we are looking forward to improving the relation with Venezuela and we have not changed our mind," Duddy told reporters, AFP quoted.

The US chief of mission noted that Washington has "no aggressive objective" in signing an agreement enabling it to use in a controlled way seven military bases in Colombia.

"There are not, there were not, and there will be not American bases," Duddy insisted on saying. "The aid we are giving Colombia is to help it solve its problems," he added.