Chavez orders Miami consulate closed

CARACAS, Venezuela, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered his country's consulate in Miami to close after the "unfair and outrageous" U.S. expulsion of the consul.

In a speech Friday, Chavez said the United States had no reason to order Consul General Livia Acosta to leave, El Universal reported. He called the U.S. action on Jan. 6 "unfair and outrageous" and said he would not respond with a tit-for-tat expulsion of a U.S. diplomat.

U.S. officials accused Acosta of talking about hacking into the computers of U.S. agencies.

Chavez opponents say closing the consulate will make it harder for Venezuelans who live in the Miami area to vote in the upcoming presidential election, the Los Angeles Times reported. A primary to choose an opponent is scheduled for Feb. 12 with the general election in October.

An estimated 77,000 Venezuelans in Miami are registered to vote in their homeland and most are believed to be opposed to Chavez.