Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has condemned what he described as a US ban on his plane using its airspace.
In a speech in the capital Caracas, Mr Maduro also accused
the US of refusing to issue a visa to a top official in order to attend a
UN meeting next week.
US officials have not confirmed or commented on the claims.
Venezuela's relations with the US have been often been
strained, both under Mr Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez and since his
own election in April.
Mr Maduro said that US authorities had barred his plane from
travelling over the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, a US territory, on a
planned trip to China later this week.
He described the move as a "serious offence" while Foreign
Minister Elias Jaua said it was "another act of aggression on the part
of US imperialism".
Local media in Puerto Rico quoted officials as saying they
knew nothing about the alleged ban and that it was a matter for the
federal US government.
In July Venezuela announced that it had "ended" steps towards
restoring diplomatic ties with the US, after a top American diplomat
referred to a "crackdown on civil society" in Venezuela.
Washington had also angered Caracas by backing the Venezuelan
opposition's demand for a full recount of April's presidential election
which was narrowly won by Mr Maduro.
The two countries last had ambassadors in each other's capitals in 2010.
