UNITED NATIONS (Reuters):

Latin American nations yesterday try to break the deadlock in the race for an open United Nations Security Council seat after Venezuela refused to pull out in favour of front-runner Guatemala.

Venezuela lagged well behind Guatemala on all 22 ballots except one, a tie, in two days of voting. Neither won the required two-thirds vote in the 192-member U.N. General Assembly for a seat on the prestigious Security Council.

The voting is scheduled to resume today. But first the 32-nation Latin American and Caribbean group, itself divided between Venezuela and Guatemala, met informally yesterday to discuss the impasse.

The balloting has surprised delegations, many of whom last week predicted that Venezuela would lead or even win the race despite or even because of strong U.S. support for Guatemala.

Armed with petrodollars, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has tried to form an alliance in Asia, Africa and the Middle East to challenge Washington's interests. Failure to get into the U.N. Security Council would represent a setback for his ambitions for a bigger international profile.

But despite Guatemala's comfortable lead, Chavez said he had no intention of withdrawing and described the protracted voting as a showdown with the United States.

"I say to them and the whole world, Venezuela will keep fighting this battle," Chavez said during a meeting with a Chinese delegation in Caracas on Tuesday.

The United States, Russia, Britain, France and China hold permanent seats on the 15-member Security Council. Ten other nations sit on the council for two-year terms.

Guatemala and Venezuela are vying for the Latin American seat Argentina will vacate on Dec. 31 while Peru stays on the council until the end of 2007.