I doubt it.
It is tied into this current administration's "America is evil" philosophy & the story only helps to weaken our relations with the people in that region, a region that Hugo Chavez is attempting to convert/subvert to socialistic societies, which I believe is a goal shared by many people in our own current administration.
So your contention is we made this up specifically to make people around the world hate us more?
You'll have to forgive me if I flat don't believe that.