The President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez said he is meeting with a delegation of Libyan officials in Caracas to seek ways to resolve the crisis in the North African country.

Chavez, a long-time friend and ally of Moammar Gaddafi, claims that he has offered to mediate talks between the Tripoli regime and Libyan rebels.

Apparently, the Libyan envoys arrived several days ago.

During a meeting with Latin American and Caribbean foreign ministers, Chavez said he is focused on finding a political solution to the drama the Libyan people were living.

Last month, a proposed peace offer by Chavez was reportedly rejected by Libyan opposition groups and the Gaddafi government.

Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said that peace in Libya must be arrived at through diplomacy and dialogue; and emphasized that Libya's national unity must be preserved.

[We worked on] a proposal geared toward the need to overcome the inertia of the war that has been imposed and makes a call for understanding and to increase efforts to stop the barbarity, Maduro told reporters.

The Venezuelan President, who has also expressed his support for the embattled leader of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, has vociferously condemned the U.S. and NATO-led military strikes on Libya as indiscriminate bombing” and “madness.”

Who gave [NATO alliance] the right to do this?” he asked. “It's crazy. Because they don't like the leader Gaddafi, because they want to take Libya's oil and water ... they are throwing bombs everywhere.

Chavez’ statements come after an attack by NATO jets on Gaddafi’s compound has raised fears (particularly by Russia and China) that the alliance is seeking to kill Gaddafi.

Chavez also accused the U.S. of merely seeking to get its hands on Libyan oil assets.

We've had enough abuse, wars and invasions directed against third world countries, Chavez said.

Chavez has frequently lamented that the US also wants to assassinate him in order to seize Venezuela’s huge oil deposits.

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