CARACAS, Venezuela, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday accused the United States of delaying delivery of spare parts for his country’s F-16 fighter planes as he looks to other countries for arms and military supplies.

The charges are the latest broadside against Washington from Chavez, a left-wing former army officer who often clashes with the United States over his rule in the world’s No. 5 oil exporter.

Chavez, whose anti-capitalist stance and close ties to Cuban leader Fidel Castro raised concerns in Washington, said Venezuela would not accept conditions to maintain its squadron of U.S.-made aircraft.

His comments came just hours before he was to meet Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to sign a bilateral accord, including possible deals for Tucano military aircraft made by Brazilian firm Embraer <EMBR4.SA>.

"The country should know the U.S. government is delaying supply of parts for the aircraft and slowly their operational level has dropped," Chavez said on his regular Sunday television program.

"We are going make some of the Tucanos that are made in Brazil, but Brazil is not going to impose any conditions on us," he said.

A U.S. embassy official in Caracas had no immediate comment on Chavez’s charges.

Venezuela remains a key oil supplier to the United States, but Chavez has moved to dilute his country’s traditional reliance on Washington and courted alternative commercial partners such as China, Russia, Iran and Brazil.

Venezuela recently agreed to buy 100,000 automatic rifles and 40 military helicopters from Russia and is studying whether to purchase Russian MiG-29 fighters to replace its F-16s.

The U.S. government, which brands Chavez a negative influence in the region, says it is concerned the Russian arms could be used to aid leftist Colombian rebels it says are terrorists.

The U.S. envoy to Caracas urged the government to allow for transparency in the arms deal. But Chavez has dismissed the worries as meddling by Washington.

"Now we are starting military cooperation with Brazil, will the United States be worried about that too?" he said.

Washington sold Venezuela 24 F-16 jets between 1983 and 1985 when Caracas was seen by Washington as an ally against communist Cuba.

But those ties have soured since Chavez was elected in 1998 with a populist vow to fight poverty. He has been a fierce critic of President George W. Bush, especially by the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.