Chavez to Expel U.S. Missionary Group

When I saw this story I immediately thought of my friends who were missionaries for a year with New Tribes Mission.  One reason why is because for a whole year, when my friends were out of the country, my husband and I watched their lovable dog - "Big Ears".  The dog's name was really Leia, but I nicknamed her "Big Ears" for obvious reasons.  Which has nothing to do with this story...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced that he will expel the U.S. Christian missionary group New Tribes Mission for being imperialists.

Speaking Wednesday at a ceremony to present land titles and farming equipment to members of the indigenous population, the leftist leader said, This is an irreversible decision that I have made. We don't want the New Tribes here. Enough colonialism!

The BBC said Caracas views U.S. evangelicals as part of a Washington conspiracy to overthrow Chavez, whose regional influence is growing thanks to massive oil revenues.

New Tribes Mission, which has its international headquarters in Florida, preaches to non-Christian indigenous peoples in 17 countries. The group had no immediate comment to Chavez's remarks, the BBC reported.

Chavez accused the missionaries of flying in and out of the country without proper permission, and of building luxurious camps for themselves alongside poverty-stricken villages.

He said he had yet to sign the expulsion order and was giving the missionaries time to gather their stuff.