Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday that the United States has been weakened and lost control over the election of a new secretary general for the Organization of American States (OAS).

Washington has put extraordinary pressure on the elections of the inter-American system, but now it is facing a stronger Latin America, Chavez said in a statement released after the OAS decided to hold a new round of voting on May 2 for a new chief.

On Monday, the OAS failed to elect a new secretary general as Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez and Chilean Interior Minister Jose Miguel Insulza received 17 votes each in five consecutive ballots.

Derbez and Insulza are contesting for the post left vacant by former Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodriguez, who resigned last October to face corruption charges back home.

Venezuela has reiterated its support to Insulza who it said represents the interests of Latin America and the Caribbean. Others backing the Chilean candidate are Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador and most of the Caribbean countries.

The Mexican candidate won votes from the United States, Canada, Bolivia Colombia, Peru, Central American countries, and some Caribbean countries.

Former Salvadoran President Francisco Flores, who had the support of the United States, withdrew his candidacy days before the elections.