During last week's Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, Obama said that he was seeking an "equal partnership" between the U.S. and Latin American and Caribbean countries.
"Our vision of the principles of dignity, sovereignty and independence during the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago received great support and became one of the greatest victories in our history," Chavez said on Sunday during celebrations of the 190-year anniversary of Venezuela's independence from Spain.
"It seems that reformations that began in Venezuela at the end of the twentieth century have finally reached the U.S.," he said after taking part in a play depicting Venezuela's April 19, 1810 declaration of independence from Spain. Chavez performed his role in the country's newly introduced commander-in-chief military uniform.
Relations between the United States and Venezuela fell to an all-time low in September 2008 when Caracas expelled the U.S. ambassador as part of a diplomatic dispute between the United States and Chavez's ally, Bolivian President Evo Morales.
Chavez has traditionally had tense relations with Washington. However, the United States remains the biggest importer of Venezuelan oil, the Latin American state's most important export.
