Sean Penn is definitely no stranger to controversy, especially when it comes to his off-screen role as celebrity advocate. His latest foray into global politics will surely ruffle some feathers on Capitol Hill and beyond — on Thursday, Penn met with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (pictured) after touring Caracas as part of the actor’s effort to educate himself about the current situation in the South American nation.

AP via Breitbart.com:

“Welcome to Venezuela, Mr. Penn. What drives him is consciousness, the search for new paths,” Chavez said Wednesday in a televised speech. “He’s one of the greatest opponents of the Iraq invasion.”

Chavez read aloud from a recent open letter by Penn to President Bush in which the actor condemned the Iraq war and called for Bush to be impeached, saying the president along with Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are “villainously and criminally obscene people.”

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#caracas#condoleezza rice#hugo chavez#sean penn#venezuela