Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called his United States counterpart George W. Bush a "coward" for promoting the U.S.-led military occupation of Iraq.

In his weekly Sunday television show, Alo Presidente, broadcast live from the state of Apure some 200 km south of the capital, Chavez called Bush "alcoholic, murderous and immoral."

"You are a coward because you don't go to Iraq and lead the troops. It is very easy to be a leader from a distance. One day, if the crazy idea of invading Venezuela occurs to you, I will wait for you in the savannah," he said.

Chavez also said world opinion was turning against the Iraq war, citing the many demonstrations across the world which protested against the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, on the third anniversary of the beginning of the war.

In his national security report issued on Thursday, Bush said: "In Venezuela, a demagogue awash in oil money is undermining democracy and seeking to destabilize the region."

The 49-page report listed the situation in Venezuela among regional challenges that "demand the world's attention."

Source: Xinhua