Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez wants to put to rest fears on the part of investors — caused by the recent declaration of “nationalization” of industries — by inviting businesses to invest in the country and in the region.

“You want to invest in Venezuela? Here we are,” dijo Chávez. “This government isn’t an enemy of the Venezuelan business person, and we want to let them participate, and were are doing that in different parts of the national business world.”

While it sounds like an opening in Chavez’s policies, the president was quick to clarify that there is one caveat to this offer: he wants business owners who are patriotic, not like the ones who he says sold out their country five years ago. He reiterated that Venezuela has finally “liberated itself from the chains of the American empire” with the nationalization of its industries.

Chavez also says that relations with the U.S. are bad because “they have declared war on us and we have the right to defend ourselves like we Latin Americans know how to defend ourselves: with our fingernails, our bones…the sovereignty of this land…we have the right to defend ourselves.”

Via / El Universal