US embassy in Chile apologizes for rude tweet

SANTIAGO - The US embassy in Chile has apologized for an earlier tweet indicating it was bored or irritated by former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet's bid to run in the November presidential elections.

"Our apologies for the last tweet. An unauthorized user sent the message from this account," the embassy said via its official Twitter account.

The offensive tweet was erased, but the apology was still there Thursday.

The erased message read: -- "Bachelet, Bachelet, Bachelet ... Is there no other news?"

Bachelet, the first woman to lead Chile from 2006 to 2010, was until recently head of UN Women, the United Nations agency in charge of women's affairs.

She returned to Chile Wednesday to seek a second term in the Nov 17 elections as the candidate of the left-leaning opposition. Polls show she leads other potential candidates.

Chile's national media were abuzz with the election bid, and the US embassy's reaction caused more ripples through social networks.