CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez told U.S. officials to “Go to hell, gringos!” and called Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice “missy” on his radio and TV show Sunday, lashing out for what he called unacceptable meddling in Venezuelan affairs.

The tirade came after Washington raised concerns about a measure to grant the fiery leftist leader broad lawmaking powers. The National Assembly, which is controlled by the president’s political allies, is expected to give approval this week to what it calls the “enabling law,” which would give Chavez the authority to pass a series of laws during an 18-month period.

On Friday, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said Chavez’s plans “have caused us some concern.”

Chavez rejected Casey’s statement saying, “Go to hell, gringos! Go home!”

He also attacked U.S. actions in the Middle East.

“What does the empire want? Condoleezza said it. How are you? You’ve forgotten me, missy … Condoleezza said it clearly; it’s about creating a new geopolitical map in the Middle East,” Chavez said.

Chavez spoke for hours Sunday during his first appearance on the weekly program in five months. He sent his best wishes to the ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro, his close ally and friend who has been sidelined since intestinal surgery last summer.

Other comments ranged from watching dancing Brazilian girls wearing string bikinis at a recent presidential summit to Washington’s alleged role in the hanging of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

“They took out Saddam Hussein, and they hung him … It’s not up to me to judge any government, but that gentleman was the president of that country.”

Holding up a newspaper with a photograph of him gazing at a string bikini-clad Brazilian dancing samba during a summit last week, Chavez laughed and said: “I didn’t know where to look … It was truly a thing of beauty.”

Chavez, who was re-elected by a wide margin last month, has said he will enact sweeping reforms to remake Venezuela into a socialist state.

Relations between Caracas and Washington have been tense since Chavez was briefly ousted in a 2002 coup that he claimed the U.S. played a role in. The Bush administration has repeatedly denied being involved.

Since then, Chavez has consistently accused the U.S. of conspiring to oust him and often asserts the CIA is working to destabilize his government. U.S. officials have denied these claims, but they have labeled him a threat to democracy.