CARACAS, Venezuela —Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez launched yet another verbal assault against President Bush upon returning from a highly charged U.S. visit Friday, calling on the American leader to resign.

Chavez also suggested that New York City police were behind an electrical disruption during his speech Thursday in Harlem, but police denied the allegation.

"He should renounce the presidency if he has any dignity. The president of the United States has failed completely," Chavez said at the inauguration of a natural gas project in northwestern Venezuela.

It was Chavez's first appearance since returning from the United States, where he called Bush "the devil" at the United Nations' General Assembly and later criticized him in a speech to supporters at a church in Harlem.

The comments coming near U.S. legislative elections have drawn condemnation even from some of Bush's critics.

Bush's political foes and fans alike condemned the remarks, U.S. newspapers criticized the Venezuelan leader.

In Boston, a city councilor said he wants to take down a landmark Citgo sign near the city's famed baseball park and replace it with an American flag.