Venezuelan President threatens US with oil weapon

[Purveyor]

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that Venezuela would block the US access to its oil resources if the United States imposes sanctions on or invade the country.

Chavez was responding to a recent threat from the United Statesthat it would impose sanctions on Venezuelan oil companies on the US soil if Venezuelan suspends oil exports to it.

In a televised speech to the nation, Chavez said "If Mr. Bush is possessed with the madness of trying to blockade Venezuela, or worse for them, to invade Venezuela in response to the desperate song of his lackeys ... sadly not a drop of petroleum will come tothem from Venezuela."

The Venezuelan president also accused Bush's administration of providing financial aid for opposition parties and terrorists in Venezuela.

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Link to entire article

[jmcgowanjm]

1. Citgo is the Venezuelan Oil Company in US

This is new. When this action by the US is taken
it will be a sign that we've hit the Asymptotic Point
on the Hubbert Curve. Not only will half the pie be gone,
but the best half will be gone.

And BTW, my wife told me over the weekend
that the UofA's ExChancellor's
Wife wants to organize a boycott of Exxon/ Conoco (the2
biggest(her words), to protest the higher pump prices.
Good Luck!

The level of ignorance here is astounding.

[megatherium]

7. We're already at the peak of Hubbert's curve

i.e., the point of maximum rate of oil production. (By "asymptotic" point, I believe you mean "inflection" point, on the curve of total oil production; that's the point of greatest production. Sorry for the correction, I'm a math teacher and I cannot control myself.)

Anyway, check out the book by Deffeyes, Hubbert's Peak: The Coming Oil Crisis. It has an ominous conclusion, but it is also a very enjoyable insider account about the oil industry and how it operates (especially regarding geology). Deffeyes was the mentor for John McPhee as he wrote his wonderful books on geology (combined together as the Pulitzer-prize winning Annals of the Former World).

[24HRrnr]

2. Chavez overstates

his own importance. He also overstates Venezuela's impact on the market. The country is imploding because he is a major nut case. The US makes a nice scapegoat.

We'll just stand aside and let Venezuela tank and fix it later. Or not.

[Dhalgren]

3. Bullshit!

The US has been ham-handedly meddling in Ven. affairs since Chavez took office. And their oil is very important to US. We are a rogue nation, our government is criminal, and the only ones who can put a stop to this is us. We have to take back this government by any means necessary! The Emperor has taken Haiti, today, tomorrow it'll be Ven. We have to put a stop to this now, not in Nov., but NOW!

[HiramAbiff]

4. And you overestimate your own intelligence

Are you for Democracy or not?

If so, you cannot consistantly support Otto Reich's anti-democratic butcheries in Latin America. Either you respect the will of the people or you respect the will of the elite - either you support spirit of our Constitution or you don't. You sound like you support Oligarchy.

The problems in Latin America can be directly traced to the historical savagry of the elite class. Murder, corruption, greed, grinding poverty, ignorance, cruelty, oppression, tyrany, slavery, rape, feudalism.

Otto Reich supports these things because Capitalism doesn't require Democracy, it only requires Stability. Which means simply keeping power concentrated in people who will do business with the United States and keeping power out of the hands of the 80% who are starving.

This has always been the policy of the United States in Latin America. And this is exactly what makes the conservative support of the Iraq war in the name of "Freedom and Democracy" so ludicrious and ridiculous.

I just have to sit back and have an Olympian laugh at the incredible ignorance of run of the mill conservatives and the incredible evil of Otto Reich.

[Dhalgren]

5. Well said!

And welcome to DU! :hi:

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

6. If he overstates his own importance.

How come the US (repus and democrats) continue to fuck with him. Giving monetary and strategic support to the "opposition"? How is he a nutcase?

[Purveyor]

8. Venezuela Ranks #4 - Imports of Crude Oil into the United States (2002)

The lastest figures I have, Venezuela was #4 on the list of crude oil exports to the US...

Rank Country of Origin Thousand Barrels/day
1 Saudi Arabia 1,519
2 Mexico 1,500
3 Canada 1,445
4 Venezuela 1,201
5 Nigeria 589
6 Iraq 459
7 United Kingdom 405
8 Norway 348
9 Angola 321
10 Colombia 235

Link to source of these stats

[hippiechick]

9. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=391648&mesg_id=391648

[pescao]

10. i think the speech is here

http://www.aporrea.net/audio/2004/02/chavez-29f-antiimperialista.mp3

[Moderator]

11. Dupe... locking

Please continue discussion within the original LBN thread on this topic, which can be found here:

Venezuela would stop oil to U.S. if invaded -Chavez

Thanks!

DU Moderator