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Venezuela's Chavez Threatens to Cut Off US Oil
CARACAS - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has threatened to cut off oil supplies to the United States if it were to back a Colombian military attack on Venezuela, warning Washington to stay out of the fray.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, pictured on July 24, threatened on Sunday to cut off oil supplies to the United States if it supports a Colombian military attack on Venezuela and warned Washington to stay out of the crisis. (AFP/File/Juan Barreto) Chavez broke off diplomatic relations with Bogota Thursday in response to charges by President Alvaro Uribe that 1,500 Colombian guerrillas had set up camp inside Venezuela and were launching attacks from its territory.
The firebrand leftist president said on Sunday he had intelligence that "the possibility of an armed aggression against Venezuelan territory from Colombia" was higher than it has been "in 100 years."
If Colombia were to launch an attack "promoted by the Yankee empire, we would suspend oil deliveries to the United States, even if everybody over here has to eat stones," he warned.
"We wouldn't send even a single drop of oil" to the United States, he said.
The United States is the number one consumer of oil from Venezuela, a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and South America's largest oil producer and exporter.
Chavez, who has been highly critical of a US-Colombian military base deal struck last year, called the United States "the great instigator" behind Venezuela's current conflict with Colombia.
About 20,000 Venezuelan troops deployed along the 2,000-kilometer (1,250-mile) border with Colombia have been placed under "maximum alert," according to military officials.
The United States on Friday threw its support behind its key ally Colombia in its latest row with Venezuela, calling Chavez's decision to sever diplomatic relations with Colombia and put border troops on alert "a petulant response" to Bogota's accusations.
Chavez on Sunday hinted at a possible easing of tensions with Colombia when president-elect Juan Manuel Santos replaces Uribe on August 7.
But in an op-ed piece published in several newspapers, the Venezuelan leader warned that his country "must get clear and unambiguous signs that Colombia's new government has real political will to resume the path of dialogue."
Santos, who is on a tour of Latin America, has refused to comment on the crisis, referring the matter to the outgoing president.
Venezuela "will present a peace proposal to Colombia" at Thursday's meeting in Quito of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), Venezuela's Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said.
Chavez also announced Sunday he would cancel a planned trip to Cuba in light of the crisis.
He had been due to attend Monday in Havana the 57th anniversary of Fidel Castro's rebel attack on the Moncada barracks that kicked off the revolution that brought him to power in 1959.
Venezuela's exports to the United States are almost entirely comprised of oil. Last year oil exports alone reached 27.12 billion dollars, accounting for 96.5 percent of all products exported to the United States.
However that was a steep drop compared to 2008, when the South American country exported 51.40 billion dollars worth of goods to the United States, the Venezuelan American Chamber of Commerce and Industry said earlier this year.
US imports in Venezuela also decreased in 2009, coming in at 9.36 billion dollars -- 27.7 percent less than the previous year.
In 2008, total trade between the two countries had reached a historical high of 64 billion dollars with the bulk of that amount -- 76.4 percent -- corresponding to oil sales.
Oil accounts for around 90 percent of revenue in Venezuela, South America's top exporter of crude oil.
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108 Comments so far
Show AllWhy does the headline claim this as US OIl?
It is not US oil.
How wrong you are Gw. Anything, anywhere, is the property of US. Just another day in the crumbling empire.
Actually GwNorth has a good point there.
The rest of your comment seems a little odd. Crumbling Empires can't hold on to anything, anywhere.
The editor did not have the column inches necessary to add Exports.
Read this month's Monthly Review. The whole issue is devoted to 21st Century Socialism in Latin America. It exposes what Chavez is really trying to do ...
http://monthlyreview.org/
Capitalist propaganda is always trying to paint Chavez in a negative light and interpreting what he is doing from an anti-socialist perspective. So by "really", I mean, the truth about what Chavez is doing as opposed to the falsehoods we read in our corporate owned press.
Go and read Monthly Review and that should give you some understanding of what the socialist agenda is all about in Latin America and Venezuela.
Capitalist propaganda always paints real democracy as 'socialism' because, well, real democracy will always manifest in socialist policies. Any honest interpretation of the preamble to our own constitution reads 'socialism' as the mandate behind its authority.
"To promote the general welfare. To provide for the common defense.'
Socialism is not communism. It is more akin to fascism in which the store owns the state, to the exclusion of the working class, while in communism the state owns the store, to the exclusion of the working class. Six in one hand, half dozen in the other. In both cases you see the state and the store (commerce/markets) as a single entity, and both hold the market, and labor, captive. Slavery.
And as it comes to justice, all I can say is that Justice had better be 'socialized' or it isn't justice. If you can't obtain justice because you lack racial, political, or economic status (have-nots) then justice is an absolute lie. Every law ever sold was ostensibly to protect 'we the people', and would never have been supported if it were sold (honestly) for what it was - to 'victimize and exploit we-the-people' for the profit of the 'haves'.
'National Security' means something less than the right to be secure in your home, your work, and in your ability to provide for your child's future. It nearly always has to do with securing someone else's future and status. And it is usually done with YOUR money, in favor of those that could have easily paid for their own security, with their own money.
Capital loathes democracy, but loves the deception it affords. We get to pay for the chains and guns which will be used against us. We get to believe we are free, while wage slavery whittles down to nothing our ability to provide for our security, our daily bread, and our children's futures.
Thanks, Struggle,
I look forward to reading the entire issue. Latin America is certainly the most exciting place in the world now, where real socialism is on the agenda.
The social struggle in Venezuela is extraordinarily complex, because there are not two, but three systems vying for supremacy. Private capitalism is still the largest sector, including the majority of the mass media. (So much for the idea of "suppression of free speech.") There is also bureaucratic state socialism, some would say state capitalism, typified by the state oil company. And then there are various forms of worker and community control. There is a large sector of independent workers' co-ops, some of which have been seized from private capital; there are enterprises run by local "community councils;" there are state enterprises in which there is a large degree of workers' control, electric generation for example, where there is an ongoing struggle between state bureaucrats and workers' collectives; and there are the state run "missions," in education and for the distribution of low cost food, among others, where there are varying degrees of influence from state, community, and labor. No one can say at this point what the ultimate outcome of all these forces will be.
Probably the best source for news is venezuelanalysis.com - pro Chavez but not slavishly so. There are many other sites, including: www.venezuelasolidarity.org.uk . For general Latin American news, from every country, go to: upsidedownworld.org . There you can read: "Latin America Pushes Forward with Regional Body to Rival the OAS," which, like most Latin news, cannot be found in the US press.
Our job here is to stay informed, and to do what we can to keep these experiments alive against the encroachments of the empire.
Thanks, Struggle. I just went and read the Monthly Review article. Very interesting.
Ah, Obama's New War! So much closer to home, should be cheaper!
It will be a cakewalk. I hear that they will greet us with flowers.
Nothing wrong with being a "firebrand."
Whats wrong with "Leftist"?
Right on Hugo ! Poder a La Gente !
Nothing wrong with that either.
And, rather than "firebrand", I prefer "hell raiser".
I earnestly wish Chavez would cut off all oil sales to the US and stop blustering about it.
It would be a favor to both countries, but of course he won't.
You certainly post valuable content and facts.
How does it become posturing when I state I wish Chavez would stop selling oil to us? Please explain your reasoning for once.
You need to be a progressive to post on this site?
Gee I didn't get the memo. More likely I didn't catch it on the disclaimer when I signed up.
"Why not try posting on the Miami herald site, where folks are as clueless and bigoted as you appear to be?"
Actually, I'm from Miami and I resemble that remark ;)
Every recent event in Central and South America points to war if not a dramatic increase in militarization. The troops and ships in Costa Rica, the reactivation of the Fourth Fleet, the bases in Colombia, and Colombia's own narco-paramilitary leadership which has been emboldened by their victory in the elections.
The US seems to be moving to its final act of waging global war for the resources of the 21st century. With the economy crumbling, military is the only thing left to the Empire to impose its will.
Very dangerous time. The chance of WW4 breaking out is higher than ever with the West joining in draconian sanctions against Iran and the possible false flag event in Korea.
bligh4
The US accounts for 60+ percent of Venezuela's oil exports. Oil exports account for 90 percent of Venezuela's income.
Mr. Chavez would be cutting his own throat. He won't do it.
The Chinese need all the oil they can get, and they can pay cash in US dollars. We are no longer the most important game in town. Venezuela doesn't need us ... we need them.
I'm curious as to what the Chinese are going to do with all that oil? We need Venezuela in what respect?
To fuel their incredible economic growth; thanks to outsourcing of American jobs. We need it just like we need Cuba: to show the dirty, rotten Commies and Socialists that they're dirty Godless economic and political theories will never gain control of our world. This includes all of Latin America; especially the illegal drugs. How else we gonna keep our prisons full of subversive elements: fill them up with Republican war criminals?
"I'm curious as to what the Chinese are going to do with all that oil?"
The Chinese will use that oil to make those cheap plastics and send it to us in the name of "free trade".
"We need Venezuela in what respect?"
We drive gas guzzlers and lie to ourselves about not being able to upgrade our public transportation system. Venezuela is being too nice to us.
bligh4
Thanks for that blinding insight caleb. One question- Why are they not buying it now? You do not simply purchase 2 mill barrels of heavy sulpher crude (and hard to refine) on a whim, and it does not happen overnight.
Sounds like their economy is really booming with so many people being lifted out of poverty. The demand must drive American business interests crazy. Sounds like our country after the Great Depression. Wish we had some inflation iinstead of deflation. They're buying direct from China and skipping the middleman: the criminal profiteers otherwise known as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. That just seems so unfair when viewed thru jaundiced eyes: Poor, poor America. Boo hoo!
Chavez will soon not need U.S. markets. The Oil Bomber will need to play his cards in a " war by proxy " using Columbian lies for the pretext. He must act or face the wrath of the real leaders of the American war machine: Republicans. What a pig the U.S. is! No more wars for oil!
Get real!!!
Rich folk tend to be Rs, but who cares? Rich folk (depending on how defined) are a small minority of the population. So what? The corrupt two-party, big-money corporate-run, faux democracy got you fooled again?
Empire- You're about half witty this morning. What changed ?
Actually the headline should say that Venezuela to cut off Venezuelan oil to US in case of attack. I have almost the exact same headline from two years ago when there was another threat from the US against Venezuela. The only difference is the part about breaking off diplomatic relations with Colombia. Otherwise, it is exactly the same.
If Chavez did cut off America's oil supply, I can just imagine Bible thumping, hypocrite, billionaire, Robertson, who probably has clandestine investments that are threatened by Hugo Chavez retorting: see, I told you we should have assassinated him!
Yes, but the top 1% rules the US, not 51%. The statistics are clear.
True! The real wealthy are not 51 percent... but maybe the most in DEBT.
If 51 percent were really in charge, things might not be as bad as now... it should be an improvement.
It seems the top always have more than the bottom and that goes for the top 90 percent or the top 1 percent.
I see no mention of the upcoming UNASUR summit called for by Chavez, nor any mention of the comical OAS presentation given by the lame-duck Uribe government that is the cause of the ruckus, and this is supposedly a news item? For more, I suggest this site, http://www.chavezcode.com/ and the item here, http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/5520
Furthermore, the oil revenue figures and such cited in the above never mention the drop in oil price by 50+%, which render them essentially meaningless. Nor is it mentioned that Uribe is likley to be arrested for corruption and for his ties to the AUP once he leaves office. IOW, if you want to know what's really happening south of the border, you cannot rely on ANY western "news" corporation.
Someone mentioned the upcoming elections with the context that Chavez is causing this crisis as a way to gain more votes for his party. The reality is "6,465 people have registered to run in the elections in September, for 165 positions in the National Assembly as well as 12 positions in the Latin American Parliament." http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/5412
And the US Propaganda System constantly says there's a lack of democracy and democratic participation in Venezuela; the facts say otherwise, as is usually the case.
Plan Colombia is the US Empire's plan to prevent South/Latin American solidarity/unification, an action that would finally overthrow the Madison Doctrine of US Imperial control over the region. Helping this process along provides another way to determine if someone is a Progressive. Obama is clearly trying to hinder it, which adds further evidence proving he's just another neocon reactionary like those that preceded him.
excellent points. Thanks for providing some analysis and context to the story. Pretty sad that journalists cannot, will not, or are not allowed to do a proper job
I just visited the AFP website through the link above to see if I could discover who authored this item. I couldn't even find it, nor could I find much of any interneational news or any news. Even google news is better than this "news service" website for providing information. In other words, AFP is a joke.
Sorry, that should be Monroe Doctrine.
Does someone have a link to web news sites from locations around the world with reporting equivalent to Amy Goodman?... in other words, real journalists with on the ground type reporting.
Besides the two I posted, Znet has useful reportage, http://upsidedownworld.org reports from south-of-the-border, and http://www.narconews.com/ has long dug into the connections between US Imperialism and its Drug War. Indymedia sites also offer native language news. Happy surfing!
www.rabble.ca is a good canadian source. Klein , Mcquaig, Barlowe regularly have articles there.
Venezuela would have no trouble selling its oil to China, and I don't know whether it does or not but if it refines its own oil into gasoline it would also find a huge gasoline and other refined petro products market in Iran.
We're not going to invade Venezuela
because then our forces would be in the wrong part of the world
to protect Israel.
Pretending we invade countries for oil
which we can get on our own without invading
is silly.
Ms Palin, is that you?
Did you wink when you wrote that?
Sorry mistaken post
Watch Oliver Stone's "South of the Border" when it comes onto Netflix or HBO. The doc explains exactly what is going down in South America.
They have a hearty cold going on down there that I can only hope and pray Columbia, Mexico, the United States and Canada can catch.
Right on, Hugo Chavez!
Note how the anonymous author of this article describes Chavez as a "firebrand leftist president." I wonder whether (s)he describes Obomber as an "imperialist right-wing president."
He is a firebrand. He is leftist. He is president.
The only conceivable insult I see in there is 'president'...which puts him in a category with Obama.
Sometimes the callow opinions expressed here are just staggering.