No word if Gaddafi shaved his head to return the favor.

(AFP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez declared Tuesday that he will continue to recognize only Moamer Kadhafi as the legitimate leader of Libya, despite signs the regime is likely in its last throes.

In Libya, Chavez said, there is “only one government, the one led by Moamer Kadhafi,” the Venezuelan leader said, restating earlier criticism of the NATO bombardment that contributed to the collapse of the Libyan strongman’s regime.

“We affirm our solidarity with the attacked and bombarded Libyan people,” he said, in a statement made during a cabinet meeting broadcast by television and radio.

The remarks echoed a statement by Chavez Monday, when he slammed the West’s military action against Kadhafi as “a massacre.”

Chavez has accused the western powers of being motivated by “cynicism” and greed to seize the oil reserves of the north African country, a fellow member of the 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

“It’s an excuse to invade and take over a country and its riches.”

Last week Chavez joined fellow US foe Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran in denouncing the West’s “imperialist aggression” against Libya.