Chavez threatens to cut off US oil shipments

 

Photo from Reuters

As promised, Chavez held his own rally yesterday, according to Wall Street Journal’s Jose de Cordoba;

In a fiery speech before tens of thousands, President Hugo Chávez alleged the U.S. was planning to sabotage a vote Sunday on proposed constitutional changes and threatened to cut off oil shipments if Washington did so.

It was one of a string of threats issued by Mr. Chávez two days before the country votes on extensive constitutional changes that if approved would give the populist president enormous powers and set the legal framework for a Cuba-like socialist state. He also threatened to nationalize Spanish-owned banks here if King Juan Carlos doesn’t apologize for telling the Venezuelan president to “shut up” last month during a conference of Latin American heads of state.

Mr. Chávez also told the army and oil workers to immediately take up positions to guard oil facilities ahead of the referendum Sunday.

The threats underscore the increasing tension in Venezuela in what is expected to be a close vote on Mr. Chávez’ proposed constitutional overhauls. In the speech Friday, Mr. Chavez repeatedly alleged the opposition wouldn’t accept unfavorable election results as part of a U.S. plan to get him out of power. “They are making plans to turn Venezuela into chaos,” he said. “We won’t allow it.”

U.S. officials in Washington dismissed any suggestion that the U.S. plans to meddle in the Venezuelan electoral process.

“We reject and are disappointed by the allegations that the U.S. would be involved in any type of conspiracy to affect the outcome of the referendum,” said Heide Bronke, a State Department spokeswoman.

Maybe in the short term Chavez’ threats will impact the US, but in the long term, Venezuela’s economy would suffer more without petro-dollars. Alberto de la Cruz at Babalu Blog agrees;

With 60% of Venezuela’s oil production going to the US, the interminable mouth-flapper could ill afford to take such a financial hit. But threats such as these sure do make provocative headlines.

Daniel from Venezuela News and Views reports some more polling data from Venezuela on the upcoming referendum;

Anyway, it is from a famous pollster who has been holding a tracking for a few months now. Early he predicted a possible SI victory, now his prediction is a NO victory by at least 7% and up to 16%. As usual, all depends from participation. What is new here is the guy going on record predicting a 7% minimum. Well, the poll is through phone interviews as tracking polls do and thus the error is 4%. So the NO, according to his own words, could squeeze by a meager 3%, enough to cause trouble and even allow enough cheating by the CNE. At any rate, my 5% gut feeling prediction keeps strengthening 🙂

But the most interesting part of the tracking poll is the result for the following question: “Is it right for Chavez to qualify anyone that votes NO as a traitor”? Stunningly 70% of the respondents disagreed!

That indicates to me that Venezuelans had an epiphany about the type of leader Chavez is becoming – that would affect the secret balloting. But Chavez has successfully manipulated elections in the past, with Jimmy Carter’s help. The fix may already me in. 

Francisco at Caracas Chronicles reports some news about potential voters;

And then, the stunner: four out of five of respondents are now telling Schemel they’re sure to vote. Surely, if turnout is that high, the Sí is toast…

The Devil’s Excrement writes that Chavez promised followers he’d remain in power for life at his rally yesterday;

With promises of running Venezuela until 2050 if he lives that long, when he will be 95 years old, Hugo Chavez closed his rally of the close of the campaign for referendum reform. And if some of his supporters were having doubts about Chavez’ intentions, just daring to say that revealed to a great extent he autocrat’s frame of mind.

The Left, of course, is perpetuating the “Operation Pliers” story. A large number of the hits to this blog over the last few days have been Google searches for the fantasy concocoted in Chavez’ palace. My new friends at Western Hemisphere Policy Watch are convinced that Cuba’s DGI and Venezuela’s DISIP (secret police agencies) are behind the story.

Cuba’s Brig. General Eduardo Delgado Rodriguez and Venezuela’s Pedro Carreño need to reign their people in. In the end, the “blame the USA and CIA” mantra is not going to get you out of this mess. The region would be a much more stable place of countries such as these would simply look North, know their own limits and place in the larger scheme of things, and just take care of their own. Newsflash amigos y amigas: you are all going to lose, the US and freedom always win.

Reuters uncovers a more dastardly plot;

Venezuelan businesses spent years conspiring against President Hugo Chavez, but the government now says they have found a new way to play dirty — hiding toilet paper to sway Sunday’s vote on expanding Chavez’s
powers.

Naw, that doesn’t sound paranoid at all. Neither does this;

“We know there are sectors that are hiding toilet paper,” Finance Minister Rodrigo Cabezas told state television on Friday. “A group of business leaders are playing mean, playing dirty … of course trying to create the sensation of product shortage during the elections.” 

Fidel Castro fans the flames of paranoia;

Venezuela, whose people are heirs to Bolivar’s ideas which transcend his era, is today facing a world tyranny a thousand times more powerful than that of Spain’s colonial strength added to that of the recently born United States which, through Monroe, proclaimed their right to the natural wealth of the continent and to the sweat of its people. 

Chavez’ allies are defecting en masse, according to Washington Times’ Jeremy McDermott;

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s ex-wife, his former mentor and the previous defense minister are among the millions opposing a referendum tomorrow on plans to give the Venezuelan leader greatly expanded powers.

“This reform definitely favors the president, as there is a clear and evident concentration of power in his hands,” said his ex-wife, Marisabel Rodriguez, a former member of the National Assembly and now a tireless critic.

Other former allies of Mr. Chavez — who says he wants to rule until the 2030s and possibly for the rest of his life — also called the referendum a power grab.

“This is a constitutional fraud, which the country must repudiate and reject,” said Luis Miquilena, 88, once Mr. Chavez’s political mentor and the mastermind of his first electoral victory in 1998.

Perhaps the most damning opposition has come from Gen. Raul Baduel, the former defense minister who rescued Mr. Chavez when he was briefly overthrown in 2002.

Gen. Baduel calls the constitutional referendum a “coup d’etat.”

Like I said yesterday, however the vote turns out tomorrow, Venezuelans are going to have a tough day come Monday.

Read more at Fausta’s Blog and Captain’s Quarters. Bloodthirsty Liberal says “He ain’t heavy, he’s my despot”

From Scott Ott:

“There is a sinister plot brewing,” said Mr. Chávez, “to try to make me believe that everyone is plotting against me. They’re trying to scuttle this referendum by making me look like an irrational ranting maniac.”

Category: Foreign Policy, Hugo Chavez