The Bush administration has named a longtime CIA official to oversee spy operations on Venezuela and Cuba. The official, Patrick Maher, was appointed last week. Up until now, a comparable post had only existed for Iran and North Korea. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez decried the decision and nicknamed Maher “Jack the Ripper.”

• Hugo Chavez: On one hand, this honours us, that they put us with revolutionary Cuba; it honours us that they catalogue us with rebel, heroic and revolutionary Cuba and together with comrade Fidel Castro and the Cuban people, with comrade Raul Castro and all the Cuban political and military officials. It says here: 'the director of intelligence for Cuba and Venezuela co-ordinates the efforts of the U.S. spy community to obtain and analyse intelligence information in both nations.'”