BUENOS AIRES, September 25 (RIA Novosti) - In an hour-long speech at the UN Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez said that the "smell of sulfur" had been replaced by "hope" in a sign of approval for U.S. President Barack Obama's policies, Latin American media said.
Three years ago during an address at the UN General Assembly Chavez likened former U.S. president George Bush to the devil, saying the podium smelled "of sulfur"
"It does not smell of sulfur. It's gone. It smells of something else. It smells of hope and you have hope in your heart," the Venezuelan leader was quoted by the El Universal newspaper as saying.
Chavez said Obama was more capable of resolving the problems between Latin America and the U.S. However, he criticized Obama for the continuing embargo against Cuba and accused the Pentagon of being behind the military coup that saw Honduran President Manuel Zelaya ousted from power.
"American soldiers knew about the coup and supported it," CNN quoted Chavez as saying. "Hence the contradiction that Obama has to face. Are there two Obamas? Obama spoke here yesterday. Does he have a double? ... Let's hope the one we heard yesterday will prevail. Let us hope. That's what the world needs," he said.
Zelaya was bundled out of the country on June 28 at gunpoint. The leader returned to the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, in secret on Monday and is currently residing in the Brazilian embassy with supporters and family.
The Venezuelan leader also criticized capitalism in his speech and extolled the virtues of socialism. He said "the revolution is under way" in Latin America and the Caribbean, adding it is "the beginning of the path to the salvation of this planet, the salvation of the human race, which is threatened by capitalism, imperialism, wars, famine," El Universal said.
"It is a necessary revolution," the Venezuelan leader said.
