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W gets a clear warning from Venezuela
Venezuela threatens to cut off oil to U.S.:
[World News]: By CARMEN J.GENTILE, UPI Chief Latin America Correspondent : Making no bones about it, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made it clear that any act of aggression on the part of the United States would result in an immediate end to its bountiful supply of oil to its best customer in the north.
The world's 5th largest oil exporter, Venezuela has been the target of Washington's ire in recent weeks and months, causing the left-wing Chavez much dismay.During his visit Friday to India -- where Chavez is hammering out the details of an oil agreement with the leading developing nation -- the Venezuelan leader made it very clear that if the United States "hurts" his country in any way, the oil values will be shut off."If there is any aggression, there will be no oil," Chavez told reporters Friday, then went on to express his delight with the prospects of a long-term oil deal with India."We want to supply oil to the United States.(But) we are not going to avoid this supply of oil unless the U.S. government gets a little bit crazy and tries to hurt us."
Chavez's caveat concerning the oil flow to its biggest and best customer comes amid a tense point in U.S.-Venezuelan relations.
On Thursday, Venezuela's Vice President Jose Rangel accused the U.
S. State Department representative for the region of being out of touch with matters in Latin America.According to Rangel, the U.S. government is "totally out of control in regards to Venezuela and doesn't have any idea what is happening in Latin America."
Rangel's remarks follow Wednesday's testimony by Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roger Noriega in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Noriega told lawmakers that the State Department was concerned that "(Venezuelan) President Hugo Chavez's very personal agenda may undermine democratic institutions at home and among his neighbors."
The Bush administration has long been a critic of the politics and policies of Chavez, accusing him of attempting to create a Cuban-style dictatorship in the South American country and supporting Colombian leftist rebels intent on destabilizing the government of Venezuela's neighbor.Both accusations Chavez adamantly denies, adding recently that he was concerned that the U.S. government was intent on overthrowing his administration."His efforts to concentrate power at home, his suspect relationship with destabilizing forces in the region, and his plans for arms purchases are causes of major concern to the Bush administration," said Noriega.Earlier this week Venezuelan military officials expressed concern about the presence of U.S. naval vessels at the nearby island of Curacao.
Venezuelan Navy Cmdr.Armando Laguna said Venezuela was "taking precautions" and investigating just what U.S. ships and other military equipment are doing on the island, located fewer than 50 miles from Venezuela's coast.
In recent weeks, Chavez has accused the United States of trying to incite a war with Venezuela and went as far to allege Washington was intent on killing him.
"If something happens to me, there is only one person responsible for it, and his name is George W.Bush," said Chavez on Tuesday, echoing previous assertions that the White House had designs on assassinating him.
In January, while still a U.S. Secretary of State nominee, Condoleezza Rice criticized Chavez, who she said governed "illiberally," although he was democratically elected.
The Venezuelan leader sought to counter doubters regarding a possible U.S. invasion of Venezuela, citing precedent in Panama, where U.S. troops landed in 1989 and captured then Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega.
More recently and closer to home Chavez fingered the United States for playing a hand in the April 2002 coup that saw him briefly deposed, only to return to power 48 hours later.At the time, the White House expressed its support for the coup and Venezuela's opposition and continues to fund some Venezuelan opposition parties via the National Endowment for Democracy.In the last year, Chavez has been balking more vociferously at alleged U.S. interference in Venezuelan affairs, accusing the White House of conspiring to gain control of its oil production.
The supposed pressure from abroad appears to have in part prompted Chavez to beef up Venezuela's defenses, a move that has caused concern from the State Department.In 2004, Venezuela agreed to purchase an estimated 50 MiG fighter jets from Russia as well as other arms.And earlier this month, Brazil said it would sell at least a dozen light attack aircraft known as Super Tucanos to Venezuela.State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said that the purchase from Russia had a potentially "destabilizing effect on the hemisphere."
Among Washington's concerns about a heavily armed Venezuela is the possibility of conflict between the leftist Chavez and neighboring Colombia, led by right-wing Bush administration ally Alvaro Uribe.Colombia has received some $3.3 billion in arms and assistance from Washington in recent years to ostensibly fund the South American nation's war against drug cartels and left-wing rebel groups.
Chavez, however, has accused Colombia and the United States of conspiring together to remove him from power by funding improvements in the Colombian military.And on Friday, Interior and Justice Minister Jesse Chacon announced that security would be beefed up along the dense forested border with Colombia and include flyovers by military helicopters.
- -- Copyright 2005 by United Press International. |
