Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez refused Monday to condemn Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and warned the United States was preparing an invasion of the North African country to seize control of its oil reserves.

"We must be prudent. We know what our political line is: We don't support invasions, or massacres, or anything like that no matter who does it. A campaign of lies is being spun together regarding Libya," said Chavez, in a televised speech to a crowd of graduates who had just received diplomas from state universities.

"I'm not going to condemn him (Gadhafi)," he said. "I'd be a coward to condemn someone who has been my friend."

The U.S. government is behind the campaign to remove Gadhafi, he added.

"The United States has already said it's ready to invade Libya, don't you see? And almost all the countries of Europe are condemning Libya... What do they want? They are rubbing their hands together. Oil is what's important to them," he said.

Chavez noted that numerous countries have condemned Gadhafi for cracking down on Libyans who have risen up against him.

"Maybe they have information that we don't have," he said.

Chavez slammed the United States for moving naval and air forces closer to Libya amid active international discussions about imposing a no-fly zone over the country.

The U.S. has a regular military presence in the Mediterranean Sea, two aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf area and a wide range of surveillance equipment available for use in the region.

Without specific information about what assets were being moved and where, it was impossible to tell whether the U.S. moves were intended as a military threat or were simply a symbolic show of force.

A flight ban seemed unlikely in the short term.

Source: msnbc.msn.com