Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday accused a US government-funded nonprofit organization of providing 300,000 US dollars to opposition groups seeking to remove him from office.

Chavez pointed out in a live radio and television show that what he said was a document proving that the National Endowment for Democracy gave the money to several opposition groups.

The National Endowment for Democracy was created in 1983 to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through non-governmental efforts.

The money was used to draft a government and economic plan entitled Country Consensus, which was released by the opposition alliance Democratic Coordinator on Friday as a blueprint for a post-Chavez Venezuela.

"The government of Mr. George W. Bush continues putting its hands where it should not put them," said Chavez. He also accused the opposition of "selling its soul to the devil".

The leader said a Venezuelan organization called the Economic Information Dissemination Center (CEDICE) was responsible for channeling the funds to the opposition.

While Chavez was delivering his weekly "Hello President" live television and radio show, at least one person was injured Sunday when the president's supporters threw stones, bottles and firecrackers at opposition backers visiting a local mayor detained at the security police headquarters.

It was the first violent incident since the two sides started their campaigns ahead of the August referendum on whether to recall Chavez.

On June 8, the National Election Council of Venezuela announced that the opposition had collected 2.5 million signatures against Chavez, more than the required 2.4 million to call a recall vote.

Sourcve: Xinhua