CARACAS, Sept. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- The US Embassy to Venezuela said Thursday that Washington has no intention to invade Venezuela.

    Washington has no plan or intention to invade Venezuela under the Plan Balboa, which was also the name of a military exercise held in May 2001 in Spain, said US Ambassador William Brownfield.

    "There is no such a thing like Plan Balboa (to invade Venezuela)," the ambassador said.

    The United States and other NATO countries didn't participate in the drill, he said.

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the United States and other NATO member countries had simulated invading west Venezuela from Panama and Colombia under an plan code-named Balboa.

    Venezuela and the United States have been locked in disputes since Chavez took office six years ago.

    Chavez has accused US President George W. Bush of supporting the failed coup d'Etat in April 2002 which ousted him for 72 hours, an allegation Washington has rebuffed. Enditem