Words fly over seizure of U.S. diplomatic bags

CARACAS, Venezuela — U.S. and Venezuelan government officials are intensifying their verbal sparring after customs authorities here seized diplomatic baggage from the United States last week that contained military hardware.

Venezuela's attorney general began an investigation Friday into whether the U.S. Embassy violated customs law when it brought 20 diplomatic bags into the country.

The cargo, delivered by a C-17 military transport plane, included ejector seats apparently intended for Venezuelan combat jets, explosive charges and about 180 pounds of chicken that did not pass through sanitary inspection, Interior Minister Jesse Chacon Escamillo said Friday night.

Brian Penn, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy here, told local news media last week that the diplomatic bags seized Thursday contained replacement parts for ejector seats for the Venezuelan military. The United States banned sales of arms and military equipment to Venezuela in May, citing a lack of cooperation on anti-terrorism efforts, though it said pre-existing contracts could be honored.

Edgar Vasquez, a State Department spokesman in Washington, told The Associated Press on Friday that the United States had requested an "immediate explanation of the entire incident," claiming the search violated international treaties on diplomatic baggage. "The impounded cargo consisted of household effects of a U.S. diplomat and a shipment of commissary goods," Vasquez said.

Analysts here pointed out that Venezuela has used spats over diplomatic bags as a pretext to breaking off diplomatic ties, as it did with the Soviet Union during the military rule of Marcos Perez Jimenez during the 1950s.