*"We would not send a drop more to U.S. refineries," he said to a roar of approval from thousands of supporters at a rally for his Socialist party.*
** *25 July 2010* Last updated at 16:27 ET Venezuela head threatens US oil cut over Colombia row [image: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Caracas, 21 July] Mr Chavez has long accused the US of plotting to oust him President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has threatened to halt oil exports to the US if his country is attacked by Colombia - a close US ally. The threat comes amid an escalating dispute over allegations that Venezuela is harbouring Colombian rebels. Mr Chavez broke diplomatic ties with Colombia last week and put his army on high alert. Venezuela is America's fifth biggest source of imported oil, supplying about a million barrels a day. Mr Chavez said he had received intelligence that "the possibility of armed aggression against Venezuela from Colombia was higher than it had ever been". "If there was any attack on Venezuela from Colombian territory or from anywhere else, promoted by the Yankee empire, we would suspend oil shipments to the US, even if we have to eat stones," he said. "We would not send one more drop to US refineries". The left-wing Venezuelan leader also said he had cancelled a trip to Cuba to celebrate a revolutionary anniversary with his close ally, President Raul Castro, because of the danger of attack. Colombia-Venezuela relationsContinue reading the main story<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10757064#skip_feature_02> - *March 2008: *Caracas sends troops to border after Colombian raid into Ecuador to kill Farc rebels - *July 2008:* Colombia and Venezuela make up after release of Farc hostage Ingrid Betancourt - *November 2009:* Venezuela sends 15,000 troops to border after Colombia-US deal on use of Colombia military bases - *June 2010: *Juan Manuel Santos elected President of Colombia. Caracas previously said his election "could lead to war in the region" - *July 16, 2010: *Caracas describes as provocation Bogota's announcement that Colombian rebels are sheltering in Venezuela - *July 22, 2010:* Colombia presents what it says is evidence for its accusations at OAS meeting. Venezuela breaks off diplomatic relations Detailed allegations A dispute over whether Venezuela allows Colombian Farc and ELN rebels to operate from its territory has dogged ties between the two South American nations for the past eight years. But relations hit a new low last week when Colombia presented detailed allegations, including maps, photographs and testimony from guerrilla deserters. Venezuela vehemently denies the accusation, and Mr Chavez has accused Colombia of trying to create a pretext for US military intervention against him. He has also accused Colombia's outgoing President Alvaro Uribe - who leaves office next month - of trying to prevent an improvement in relations with Venezuela under his successor, Juan Manuel Santos. Mr Uribe - a close ally of the US - has made the fight against left-wing rebels the main priority of his presidency. In a newspaper interview published on Sunday, he said he could not understand why guerrilla leaders sheltering in Venezuela were not arrested. "I leave office with the sadness that these terrorists still have the capacity to inflict damage from outside the country", he said. In 2008 Mr Uribe sent Colombian troops into neighbouring Ecuador to attack a rebel base, killing the Farc leader, Raul Reyes. His decision to give US forces access to military bases inside Colombia has been another cause of concern for Venezuela. Sun Jul 25, 2010 3:38pm EDT * Chavez says will cut oil in case of attack from Colombia * Venezuela is one of top oil suppliers to United States * Venezuela severed ties with Colombia over rebel claims (Adds detail, Chavez comment) By Frank Jack Daniel<http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=frank.daniel&;> CARACAS, July 25 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened on Sunday to cut oil supplies to the United States in case of a military attack from Colombia as a spat escalated over charges his country harbors Colombian rebels. Chavez, a leftist and vocal critic of the United States, broke off diplomatic relations with Colombia last week over the claims by the outgoing government of President Alvaro Uribe, a close U.S. ally. "If there was any armed aggression against Venezuela from Colombian territory or from anywhere else, promoted by the Yankee empire, we would suspend oil shipments to the United States even if we have to eat stones here," Chavez said. *"We would not send a drop more to U.S. refineries," he said to a roar of approval from thousands of supporters at a rally for his Socialist party.* Chavez said he feared an attack from Colombia was imminent after Bogota accused him of allowing top commanders of leftist FARC rebels to operate freely in camps near the border. He has denied the Colombian accusations and says he will not tolerate any foreign armed groups in Venezuela. The dispute with Colombia has dominated the political agenda in Venezuela before legislative elections on Sept. 26, diverting attention from a deep recession and high inflation. (Editing by John O'Callaghan<http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=john.ocallaghan&;>) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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