Bolivia's Morales suggests U.N. move HQ from U.S.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations should consider moving its headquarters outside the United States, Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Wednesday, complaining that U.S. authorities did not make him welcome.

Morales, who has championed indigenous rights and has close ties to leaders like Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Fidel Castro of Cuba, said many in his delegation had trouble getting visas to attend the U.N. General Assembly this week.

"I don't know how all of you managed to come here to the United States," he told the General Assembly. "At least my delegation had a great deal of visa problems."

"My ministers here are subjected to hours and hours of controls at the airport," he said. He also criticized U.S. President George W. Bush for referring to Castro as a cruel dictator in a speech on Tuesday.

"Some of us are practically threatened by the rulers of the country, by President Bush," Morales said. "Perhaps if that's the case, we should change the site of the United Nations. Perhaps we should do research on that."

Morales is due to host another U.S. nemesis, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who will visit the impoverished South American nation in the coming days.