Panama says rejects Venezuelan President Maduro's "offenses"

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrives at a military parade to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of Venezuela's late president Hugo Chavez in Caracas March 5, 2014. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - The government of Panama said on Wednesday that it rejected Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's "unacceptable offenses" against it after the South American oil giant broke off diplomatic and commercial ties with the Central American nation. Earlier, Maduro had used the anniversary of former President Hugo Chavez's death to sever ties with Panama, whose conservative government he accused of joining the United States in "open conspiracy" against him. (Reporting by Lomi Kriel)