CARACAS, Venezuela (AP):

Venezuela opened a corrup-tion probe of a leading opponent of President Hugo Chávez yesterday with less than a month to go before nationwide elections.

Attorney General Luisa Ortega said prosecutors should decide whether to file criminal charges against Governor Manuel Rosales by year's end, throwing up a cloud that will remain through election day on November 23. Rosales, a two-time governor, is running for mayor of Maracaibo, Venezuela's second-largest city.

Rosales denied any wrongdoing and accused Chávez and his allies of raising false charges to prevent his victory next month.

"They have always dreamed of taking me out of the political game," said Rosales, one of four opposition governors in Venezuela's 23 states. "They cannot win with votes, so they try to win with tricks."

Chávez has called for Rosales's imprisonment, without providing any details why.

"I have decided to make Manuel Rosales a prisoner," he told business leaders Saturday in Maracaibo. "He cannot continue in office ... He is one of those who wants to see me dead."