Mr Cheney slipped up addressing an international affairs luncheon

Cheney's gaffe

While criticising Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Mr Cheney said "the people of Peru deserve better".

Speaking in Dallas, Texas, he said he did not believe Mr Chavez represented the future of Latin America.

Mr Chavez and his socialist ideology have long concerned US President George W Bush's administration.

Mr Cheney said of the Venezuelan leader: "He spends a great deal of his time worrying about us and criticising the United States."

He added: "The people of Peru, I think, deserve better in their leadership. But that's obviously a matter they've got to resolve for themselves."

He made the faux pas on Friday while addressing a lunch meeting of the Dallas-based World Affairs Council, which describes itself as an organisation set up to educate citizens on international affairs.

Peru is nearly 800km (500 miles) to the south-west of Venezuela, beyond Ecuador and Colombia.