Venezuelan Indians denounce Chavez expulsion order

CARACAS, Venezuela :Members of a Venezuelan indigenous tribe on Saturday criticized President Hugo Chavez's order to expel a U.S. missionary group he accused of links to the CIA, saying the decision goes against the interests of their impoverished communities.
Jose Kayupare of the Puinare tribe challenged Chavez's claims that the Sanford, Fla.-based New Tribes Mission constituted an "imperialist infiltration" that was exploiting native communities.
"For those of us who live in the jungle, this really is a decision that the majority of indigenous people in Amazonas (state) don't support and that we are not going to accept under any circumstances," Kayupare told reporters.
He said the New Tribes Mission has helped Indian communities ravaged by malaria and other diseases in Venezuela, sometimes airlifting the sick to medical assistance, when the government and others had abandoned them.
Chavez has accused the missionaries of ties to the CIA and collecting "strategic information" on Venezuela,charges the group denies. Although Venezuela is a key oil supplier to the United States, relations between the two countries have long been strained, and Chavez has repeatedly accused Washington of supporting efforts to oust him.....