Exile an Option for Gaddafi; Venezuela, Nicaragua Supportive of Leader

Exile for Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi is an option, according to U.S. Officials.

So far, however, no world leaders have publicly offered asylum for the Libyan leader weeks into a crisis which has pitted the Libyan government against opposition protesters.

The leaders of Venezuela and Nicaragua have shown support for Gaddafi recently, however.

Last week, amid rumors that he had fled to Venezuela, Gaddafi said he had not gone anywhere.

I am in Tripoli and not in Venezuela. Don't believe those misleading dog stations, he said, referring to the reports.

Gaddafi's son, Seif al-Islam, said publicly that they would not be backing down. He said on state television last week that his father and Libyan security forces would fight until the last bullet.

A reason for the rumors he had fled to the South American country is the warm relations between Libya and Venezuela.

On Monday, Venezuela President Hugo Chavez refused to condemn Gaddafi, saying he wouldn't be swayed just because everyone is calling the Libyan leader a murderer.

Well it doesn't seem that way, I would be a coward if, without knowing exactly what is happening in Libya, I called him a murderer, he said.

In 2009 Gaddafi attended a gathering of African and South American leaders in Venezuela where President Hugo Chavez awarded the Libyan leader for being a freedom fighter.

On Tuesday, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega sent a letter of greeting to the Libyan leader, sending him a fraternal hug from the Nicaraguan people, commemorating the 34^th anniversary of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Libya's formal name.

He backed a proposal by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to create an international commission that would serve as a mediator between the Libyan government and opposition protesters.

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has been more ambivalent on Gaddafi, with whom Cuba has had friendly ties.

One could agree or disagree with Gaddafi, he said in a column published in Cuban state media last week. He said it would take time to know for certain what was actually happening in the country amid a multitude of media reports.

We'll have to wait to know for certain how much is truth or lies, or a mixture of facts of all kinds which, in the midst of chaos, have been produced in Libya, he said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government has stated that exile is a clear option, with an aim at ending violence in the country.

Exile is an option, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Monday. However he also warned that the United States still wanted accountability.

[H]e and others will be held accountable for their actions regardless, Carney said.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is Libya's largest trade partner warned in an interview Tuesday that it was too early to speak about a possible exile.

We must wait and see. It's best not to enter into specifics yet, he said in an interview with Il Messagero.