http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBDKKOKJCE.htmlMajor Venezuelan Crude Oil Shipment Reaches Uruguay in "solidarity" Gesture by Chavez
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) - A ship carrying 930,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude oil reached Uruguayan waters Thursday, part of a series of planned "solidarity" shipments sent by Venezuelan populist Hugo Chavez.
The tanker ship Genmar Spyridon sailed from Venezuela Aug. 5, with the crude shipment arranged by Chavez's government to cement growing ties with Uruguay's new leftist president, Tabare Vazquez.
A Venezuelan embassy official in Montevideo, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the tanker ship would anchor at the San Ignacio complex off Uruguay's South Atlantic coast on Friday after waiting out bad weather. Uruguayan officials had no immediate comment.
The shipment comes a week after Chavez's Aug. 10 visit to Montevideo where he heartily embraced Vazquez, the first elected leftist in Uruguay, and the two talked of fostering greater regional unity.