In February 2006, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld compared Ch谩vez to Adolf Hitler, which did not sit well with the Venezuelan president.
Ch谩vez played off the comment during a speech in Cuba where he was accepting the Jos茅 Mart铆 Prize 鈥� a Cuba-initiated UNESCO prize that recognizes an individual or organization that has contributed to Latin American unity.
"Let the dogs of the empire bark, that's their job," he said. "Ours is to battle to achieve the true liberation of our people."
Ch谩vez said that the United States was weakening because of Latin America鈥檚 left-leaning governments.
"They are right to be worried, because they know what's happening here," he said during his three-hour speech. "They will forever try to preserve the US empire by all means, while we will do everything possible to shred it."
