UNITED NATIONS - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called President Bush "the devil" in a speech to the United Nations on Wednesday， making the sign of the cross in a dramatic gesture and accusing him of "talking as if he owned the world."

The fiery speech by the leftist leader， one of the Bush’s staunchest critics abroad， was harsher in tone than that of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad， who sparred with Bush the previous day over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program but avoided any personal insults.

"Yesterday， the devil came here，" Chavez said， referring to Bush’s address before the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. "Right here. Right here. And it smells of sulfur still today， this table that I am now standing in front of."

He then made the sign of the cross， brought his hands together as if praying and looked up at the ceiling.Lest anyone wasn’t listening， Chavez continued:
"Yesterday， ladies and gentlemen， from this rostrum， the president of the United States， the gentleman to whom I refer as the devil， came here， talking as if he owned the world. Truly. As the owner of the world，" Chavez said.

Chavez’s words drew tentative giggles at times from the audience， but also applause at the end of the speech and when he called Bush the devil — a word he used no fewer than eight times.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Chavez’s remarks were "not becoming for a head of state.""I am not going to dignify a comment by the Venezuelan president to the president of the United States，" Rice told reporters in New York. The main U.S. seat in the assembly hall was empty as Chavez spoke， though the U.S. Ambassador John Bolton told The Associated Press that a "junior note-taker" was present， as is customary "when governments like that speak."