Amidst rumours of war ...

2006, February 28: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias has threatened to cut off oil exports to the United States, if Washington goes "over the line" in attempts to destabilize his government.

Ports in both countries, Puerto Cabello in Venezuela and New Orleans and Florida ports in the USA are active members of the Caribbean Shipping Association and the CSA has had major meetings in both countries. The Associations’s 27th Annual General Meeting was held in Valencia, Venezuela in October 1997.

President Chavez made his threat last week, a day after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Venezuelan government posed "one of the biggest problems" in the region and that its ties to Cuba were "particularly dangerous" to democracy in Latin America.

President Hugo Chavez Frias (BBC Photo)

"The government of the United States should know that if they go over the line, they are not going to have Venezuelan oil," he said.

"I have already taken measures regarding this. I'm not going to say what, because they think that I can't take these measures because we would not have any place to send the oil," Chavez said.

President Chavez threatened to halt oil exports to U.S. before, but this was the first time the former paratroop commander mentioned having made contacts with other crude buyers as part of a contingency plan.

"Many countries ask us for more oil, and we have had to tell many countries we can't send them more," because Venezuela, the world's fifth largest oil exporter, ships 1.5 million barrels of oil a day to the United States, he told supporters at his presidential palace.

Relations between Chavez and the Bush administration hit new lows recently, after Washington expelled a Venezuelan diplomat in response to Chavez's expulsion of a U.S. embassy official for alleged spying.

Venezuela also demanded an explanation from Washington for being labeled as one of Latin America's biggest threats, as a visiting State Department delegation was attempting to ease tensions between the governments.

Chavez has repeatedly accused the U.S. government of trying to discredit his government and orchestrate his ouster. American officials deny those charges, but accuse him of authoritarian tendencies. However Chavez said U.S. officials would fail in their attempts to turn Latin American nations against Venezuela.

According to President Chavez, Rice's statements were aimed at creating chaos and political upheaval in this oil-rich, yet poor South American nation, ahead of presidential elections in December. Chavez, was elected for a six-year term in 2000.

Meanwhile, as the Chavez government apparently prepares itself for possible American military invasion (commentary), the outgoing President of Chile, Ricardo Lagos has described the frequent verbal clashes between leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and U.S. officials as “an inconvenience”.   (More ... ).   See also "Venezuela to buy more weapons".

Ricardo Lagos

EDITORS NOTE: Venezuela owns the largest oil deposits outside the Middle East and is the world's fifth largest oil producer.  Its products are distributed in the USA under the brand CITGO.  Hugo Chavez was elected president in 1998 and again in 2004.