Maduro denounces 'hate campaign' aimed at Donald Trump

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has denounced a "hate campaign" aimed at Donald Trump, saying the US president-elect's administration would not be "worse" than Barack Obama's. "Big international media have speculated a lot," he told reporters. "We are surprised by the hate campaign against Donald Trump -- brutal -- in the whole world, in the western world, in the United States." The socialist president said he will wait until Trump takes over the White House on Friday before making judgments on the incoming US president's foreign policy. "I want to be cautious," he said. "He won't be worse than Obama, that's the only thing I would venture to say." Maduro said he foresaw "major changes in global geopolitics" and expressed his desire "to have relations of respect, communication and cooperation." Venezuela is plagued with soaring crime, runaway inflation and a sharply contracting economy, worsened by falling oil prices. The opposition blames Maduro's economic policies and mismanagement for the crisis. He contends it is the product of a US-backed capitalist conspiracy. During the 2016 US election the Venezuelan government voiced anger over parallels drawn between Trump and the late former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. The US has had a strained relationship with the Latin American country since Chavez -- famous for his anti-American rhetoric -- took over as its president in 1999.