Chavez is threatening to withhold oil shipments to the US believing that Exxon Mobil is acting in concert with the Bush administration to seize billions in Venezuelan assets.
Exxon Mobil has gone after the assets of 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.
A British court has issued an injunction “freezing” as much as $12 billion in assets.
“If you end up freezing (Venezuelan assets) and it harms us, we’re going to harm you,” Chavez said during his weekly radio and television program, “Hello, President.” “Do you know how? We aren’t going to send oil to the United States. Take note, Mr. Bush, Mr. Danger.”
This also brings into question the issue of privatization versus nationalization and how market driven economies and the lure of optimal profits have little to do with economic stability for the masses. More importantly, our so called national security is under attack, not from jihadists but rather from corporate profiteers.
