Chavez threatens to cut off oil sales to U.S.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Feb. 10 threatened to cut off oil sales to the United States in an “economic war” if ExxonMobil wins court judgments to seize billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets.

“If you end up freezing (Venezuelan assets) and it harms us, we’re going to harm you,” Chavez said, turning his words to U.S. President George W. Bush. “Do you know how? We aren’t going to send oil to the United States. Take note, Mr. Bush, Mr. Danger.”

ExxonMobil has gone after the assets of Venezuela’s state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, in U.S., British and Dutch courts as it challenges the nationalization of a multibillion dollar oil project by Chavez’s government last year. A British court issued an injunction “freezing” as much as US$12 billion in assets.

“I speak to the U.S. empire, because that’s the master: continue and you will see that we won’t send one drop of oil to the empire of the United States,” Chavez said during his weekly radio and television program, “Hello, President.”

“The outlaws of ExxonMobil will never again rob us,” said Chavez, accusing the Irving, Texas-based oil giant of acting in concert with Washington and being part of corporate “worldwide mafias.”

—The Associated Press