George W Bush banned from Venezuela after country's president brands him a terrorist

The president of Venezuela has banned George W Bush from entering the South American nation, labelling him "a terrorist".

Former US president Bush, and his vice-president, Dick Cheney, are accused of having committed “terrorist acts and grave human rights violations” in Syria, Iraq and Vietnam and are no longer eligible for visas to visit the oil-rich state.

“Considering that the Republic of Venezuela is a sovereign state that promotes and guarantees universal respect for human rights,” reads a decree issued by Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro today.

“It resolves to prohibit the sanctioning of any visa or entry to Venezuela to… George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.”

The latest bizarre development comes after a deterioration of relations between Maduro and the United States, which has seen the Venezuelans demand the Americans reduce their diplomatic staff in Caracas from over 100 down to 17.

Last month, the US government approved a law under which Venezuelan officials allegedly involved in human rights violations are to have their visas revoked and any assets on US soil frozen.

As a reaction, an unspecified number of Americans, including a pilot, have also been arrested in the last week for allegedly engaging in espionage and recruitment activities.

"There has been a lot of anti-American rhetoric again coming out of the Venezuelan Government with a lot of baseless allegations," said US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf on Monday. (Mirror)