Chavez: Venezuela achieves objective against U.S. in UN
Venezuela has achieved its objective within the United Nations despite trailing Guatemala, a U.S.-backed candidate, in previous rounds of voting for a UN Security Council seat, President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday.

The UN General Assembly remained deadlocked last Thursday after a third day of voting to choose a nonpermanent member of the Security Council designated to Latin American and Caribbean states.

After 13 rounds of voting, which takes the total number of rounds so far to 35, neither Guatemala nor Venezuela had yet obtained a two-thirds majority. Balloting is scheduled to resume on Wednesday.

Venezuela has successfully challenged U.S. interests by preventing Guatemala from winning the seat, Chavez told thousands of supporters in Valencia, an industrial city about 110 km west of Caracas.

"We have taught the empire a lesson," he said. Even if "Venezuela isn't able to enter the Security Council, we've done damage to the empire. That was our objective."

Guatemala and Venezuela are contending to serve as a nonpermanent Council member for a two-year term starting on Jan. 1,2007, replacing Argentina. It is the only seat not yet determined.

In the 35th round last Thursday, when 123 votes would have been enough to secure a victory, Guatemala obtained 103 votes and Venezuela received 81. There were seven abstentions. Guatemala has led in every round so far, with the exception of the sixth round last Monday, when the two countries were tied.

Chavez, who has promised to use a seat on the council as a platform to speak out against Washington, said his country would not withdraw, vowing to continue confronting the United States.

"Venezuela is not going to give up," he said, adding that his "revolutionary" government had "stood up to the most powerful empire in the world and stopped it."