CARACAS, Jan. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Venezuelan Vice President Vicente Rangel said on Friday that U.S. embassy staffers had collected confidential information for the Pentagon from junior Venezuelan navy officials.

    "Officials from the U.S. military mission were involved in this affair. I am not surprised as they were fully involved in the April 11 coup," Rangel said.

    Venezuela has been accusing Washington of assisting an April 2002 coup, which temporarily pushed President Hugo Chavez out of office. The United States denied involvement.

    Earlier on Friday, Chavez said John Correa, the U.S. naval attache, had bribed Venezuelan army officials for confidential information.

    U.S. ambassador to Venezuela William Brownfield did not comment directly on the charges, but said that he had "absolute trust in the people of the U.S. embassy and their desire to maintain and improve bilateral relations."

    He said that he would respond to any concrete charges he receives against his officers, but he didn't get any formal reportas the Venezuelan government made the accusations in front of the media.

    Washington had been at odds with Caracas over Chavez's accusation of U.S. involvement in the 2002 coup attempt. The most recent row between the two countries erupted after the United States blocked sales of Brazilian and Spanish aircraft and boats containing U.S. technology to Venezuela.

    However, trade between the two countries continues to grow despite political rows. In 2005, the U.S.-Venezuelan trade reached 39 billion U.S. dollars, up 35 percent over a year earlier. Enditem