Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela's vice president reacted with outrage to a call by television evangelist Pat Robertson for the U.S. to assassinate President Hugo Chavez, and two U.S. senators called the remarks ``irresponsible'' and ``incredibly stupid.''

``It's the height of hypocrisy for the U.S. to continue talking about the war against terrorism when at the same time you have someone making obvious terrorist declarations in the heart of the country,'' Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said at a news conference in Caracas.

Robertson, a former U.S. presidential candidate who claims 1 million viewers a day for his ``700 Club'' program,'' said on the show yesterday that Chavez is a ``dangerous enemy'' and that the U.S. should ``take him out.'' He said killing Chavez would be cheaper than going to war with Venezuela to remove him.

The comments may add to anti-U.S. sentiment among Chavez supporters in the South American country. Chavez, who has threatened to cut off Venezuelan oil exports to the U.S., is setting up a people's militia to help defend against a military invasion he says the U.S. is planning.

Robertson's statement was ``incredibly stupid'' and ``has no reflection on reality,'' said U.S. Senator Norm Coleman, a Republican from Minnesota who is chairman of the Senate's Foreign Relations subcommittee on the western hemisphere. Coleman and Senator Mel Martinez, a Republican from Florida, spoke to reporters after meeting with Brazilian government and business leaders in Rio de Janeiro.

`Without Fact'

Chavez downplayed Robertson's comments.

``I don't know who that person is,'' Chavez told reporters before he boarded a plane in Havana, where he met with Cuban President Fidel Castro, one of his closest allies, for four days. ``I don't care what he said. I prefer to talk about life, about the things we've been working on.''

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at a press briefing in Washington that Robertson's views ``do not represent the policy of the United States.''

``Any allegations that we are planning to take hostile action against the Venezuelan government are completely baseless and without fact,'' McCormack said.

Chavez, 51, in June said there was ``evidence'' that the U.S. wanted him dead, an act that would violate an assassination ban first signed by Gerald Ford in 1976. The Venezuelan leader has repeatedly accused President George W. Bush of backing efforts to topple his government, a charge the U.S. denies.

Justification

``This type of statement justifies the Venezuelan government's worry about preserving the life of its president,'' Rangel said. ``President Bush said yesterday that his government rejects all forms of terrorism. The reaction of the U.S. to this presumably religious man will put to the test U.S. rhetoric.''

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the government can't control what Americans say.

Robertson ``is a private citizen,'' Rumsfeld said at a news conference in Washington. ``Private citizens say all kinds of things all the time.''

The U.S. has alleged Venezuela is using its oil wealth to undermine democracy in Latin America. Venezuela is the fourth- largest oil supplier to the U.S. and owns Citgo Petroleum Corp.

``I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it,'' Robertson said of Chavez. ``This is a dangerous enemy to our south controlling a huge pool of oil.''

`Communist Infiltration'

Robertson, 75, made the comments on Chavez yesterday on his program, an audiotape of which was posted on the Web site of the Christian Broadcasting Network, founded by the cleric in 1960 and based in Virginia.

``We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come to exercise that ability,'' Robertson said.

Ford in 1976 signed an executive order that ``no employee of the United States government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, political assassination.'' President Ronald Reagan in 1981 extended that ban to include all people ``employed by or acting on behalf of'' the government.

Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on Washington and New York, the White House said the executive order does allow the U.S. to act in self-defense.

Robertson said that Chavez is going to make Venezuela a ``launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent.'' Killing Chavez would be cheaper than starting a war, he said.

Arms Purchases

``We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one strong-arm dictator,'' Robertson said. ``It's a whole lot easier to let some of the covert operatives do the job and get it over with.''

Venezuela has bought $240 million in Russian arms since March, drawing criticism from U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who said the buildup poses a threat to stability in the Western Hemisphere.

``We have a lot of evidence, not just rumors, that there are people who think the only solution is to kill Hugo Chavez,'' the Venezuelan leader said June 5 in Caracas, referring to the U.S. ``We've increased our security and intelligence a lot. If that madness happens, they will regret it.''

Chavez, who took office in February 1999, was overthrown in a coup in April 2002 and regained power two days later. The U.S., which didn't immediately condemn the overthrow of the Venezuelan leader, has rejected accusations by Chavez that it helped plan the coup.

Rising Popularity

In its initial reaction to the coup on April 12, 2002, the White House, through spokesman Ari Fleischer, placed blame for the unrest on Chavez and asserted -- incorrectly, as it turned out -- that Chavez had ``resigned the presidency'' and been replaced by a ``transitional authority.''

Chavez, who staged his own failed coup attempt as a lieutenant colonel in 1992, defeated a referendum to remove him from office in August 2004, allowing him to see out his term until the next elections, scheduled for December 2006. The referendum was forced after the opposition gathered 2.4 million signatures.

Chavez's popularity has soared in recent months, buoyed in part by a rally in the price of oil that has allowed him to increase government spending.

The percentage of Venezuelans saying they back Chavez rose to 71.2 percent in May from 67 percent in April, according to the latest poll by Caracas-based pollster Datanalisis. Datanalisis, which surveyed 1,300 Venezuelans from May 6 to May 14, said the poll has a margin of error of 2.71 percentage points.

To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Wilson in Caracas at pewilson@bloomberg.net Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 23, 2005 18:38 EDT