Most threatening oil crisis brewing in Venezuela

HoustonChronicle.com ^ | April 9, 2002, 6:11PM | LUIGI SAPUTELLI

[rw4site]

We don't need ANWAR. We need long lines at the pumps and $2+ gasoline. </sarcasm>

Venezuela just had to elect their own clinton.

[Bogie]

Actually, it's real simple, Chaves is "in bed" with Castro, and they both admire the Saddam/Iraq form of socialism/totaltarianism.

[BlackJack]

I wonder if a civil war could break out????

[Sawdring]

I was listening to the radio last night and the talk show host made is sound like Chavez is cutting off the US oil supply right now due to the ME crisis. The funny think is Chavez is trying to keep it on, at least until all his men are in place.

[MattinNJ]

Unless a Pinochet or a Franco steps up to the plate Venezuela will go the way of Cuba. Chavez is a communist. tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers are pouring into Venezuela as we speak.

[flamefront]

The funny think is Chavez is trying to keep it on, at least until all his men are in place.

Yes, there is really bad reporting on this issue. But once he has his thugs in place on the PDVSA, Chavez will be able to more easily play the "distribute wealth to the masses" game later. Its in his and OPEC's interests to spike the prices while at the same time playing politics to achieve his dream of becoming the next Bolivar. Such an opportunity.

[samtheman]

We can't control this and other situations beyond our borders. We can, however, drill ANWR.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Cuba's Castro Says Venezuelan Chavez Speaks for Him

[rw4site]

Re: "I can live with that! WASTE NOT...WANT NOT."

If you are not using a bicycle for your transportation, you are a hypocrite. Who/What gives you the "say" about the size of our automobiles and amount driving we do with them?

Hint...... It ain't your call!

[Fitzcarraldo]

Drill ANWR!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Venezuelan army general condemns President Chavez for 'passive' attitude toward Colombian rebels -- Wed Apr 10, 3:22 PM ET By FABIOLA SANCHEZ, Associated Press Writer [Full Text] CARACAS, Venezuela - Two Venezuelan military officers rebelled Wednesday against President Hugo Chavez, one of them claiming Chavez had ordered the National Guard to use force to remove protesters from oil monopoly headquarters.

National Guard Gen. Rafael Damiani Bustillos claimed Chavez had ordered guardsmen to remove thousands of protesters who are supporting dissident executives at the oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela. The executives want Chavez to rescind top managers he appointed on Feb. 25.

Government officials couldn't immediately be reached by telephone to comment on Bustillos' claim.

Guard troops took positions around the building in eastern Caracas on Tuesday to protect it.

"The president of the republic ordered the National Guard to use force to remove people in front of (the building)," Bustillos told Associated Press Television News.

He urged officers not to obey "a presidential lunacy that is going to (ruin) the name of the armed forces, especially the National Guard." He also appealed for calm, both from the opposition and the government.

Interior Minister Ramon Rodriguez Chacin said earlier Wednesday the government would take any action "under the law" to preserve order.

Also on Wednesday, an army general whose duties included patrolling part of the western border with Colombia accused Chavez of taking a "passive" attitude toward leftist Colombian guerrillas.

Brig. Gen. Nestor Gonzalez Gonzalez said at a Caracas news conference that Colombian guerrillas maintain camps along the remote frontier and that Chavez's government was lying when it denied such camps exist inside Venezuela.

Gonzalez Gonzalez accused Chavez of refusing to govern democratically, of sympathizing with the rebels and politicizing Venezuela's military.

"Mr. President, you have betrayed the country," he said. "Respect the national armed forces."

Defense Minister Jose Vicente Rangel said he had no immediate comment.

Gonzalez Gonzalez is a former commander of army schools and of forces operating in the western state of Tachira, along the Colombian border. He was relieved of his command in January after news reports that he urged fellow generals to refrain from politics.

Last month, Colombian Gen. Martin Carreno said rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, had camps inside Venezuelan territory and had attacked his forces from the other side of the border. The March 20 battle left at least 41 soldiers and rebels dead. [End]

Venezuelan Army General Nestor Gonzalez departs after speaking to the press, April 10, 2002. General Gonzalez sharply criticized President Hugo Chavez, accusing him of betraying the nation with his leftist policies and of lying about the presence of Colombian Marxist guerrillas in venezuelan territory. The denunciation comes at a time when the populist leader is facing a national anti-goverment strike by labor and business opponents and an escalating protest in the state oil giant PDVSA. REUTERS/Stringer - Apr 10 3:05 PM ET

[Bogie]

Civil war?

I know that there has been a number of street fights.

[rw4site]

You said in your earlier post.... "Would that mean less un-needed driving? or smaller more fuel efficient cars?"

"I can live with that! WASTE NOT...WANT NOT."

Why the choice between "un-needed driving" (whatever the hell you mean by "un-needed driving!") and fuel efficient cars?

Good for you by working at home, but as an older retired person, I resent the hell for anyone to suggest that I should cede more of my rights and freedom to anyone for what they believe is "saving" (WASTE NOT...WANT NOT) for the sake of the environment or political correctness.

Maybe your little remark just set me off because I am sensitive against anything resembling political correctness today , but I am damn tired of Americans willing to cede their (and mine) choices for political correctness. Oil is the ultimate political weapon.

[Eva]

I don't have time to post, but did anyone post anything about the Columbian consulate and the Spainish embassy in Caracas being bombed yesterday? Homeland security reported it today and said that Chavez claimed that the bombings were a warning to foreign countries to stay out of Venezuelan affairs.

[backhoe]

Cross-link:

-The Fire Down South...( Latin America--)--

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Over here

[rw4site]

You'll find it here.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/search?m=any&o=time&s=Caracas