The United States has sought to distance itself from comments made by the right-wing TV Evangelist, Pat Robertson.
Earlier this week, Mr Robertson suggested that American agents should assassinate the Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez.
The US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, denied the Pentagon had considered assassinating Mr Chavez, who has been an outspoken critic of Washington.
While a State Department spokesman described Mr Robertson's comments as inappropriate, there has been no official reaction from the White House.
Venezuela has urged the Bush administration to condemn Mr Robertson's remarks and guarantee the safety of President Chavez when he visits New York next month.
The country's ambassador to the US, Bernardo Alvarez Herrera, said he was not reassured by the official US response so far.
