In oil, Venezuela sees fuel for fight with U.S. AS CRUDE PRICES RISE, NATIONS' TIES HIT NEW LOWS Washington Post CARACAS, Venezuela - After the rumble of tanks died down and the last soldier high-stepped past the spectators' pavilion, President Hugo Chávez told the thousands attending Venezuela's Independence Day parade July 5 that no invading army could match the fighting force that had just marched by, ``armed to the teeth.'' The hypothetical invasion he invoked was patently clear: Two days before, Chávez had announced the discovery of evidence that the United States had drawn up blueprints to invade Venezuela, a plan he said was code-named ``Operation Balboa.'' American officials dismissed the claim as fiction, just as they have denied Chávez's repeated assertions that the CIA is trying to assassinate him, or that the Bush administration was behind the military coup that briefly toppled his government in April 2002. There is little doubt, however, that relations between Venezuela and the United States, strained for years, are plunging to new lows. Chávez has always been outspoken in condemning what he calls ``U.S. imperialism,'' mocking President Bush as ``Mr. Danger'' and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as ``Mr. War.'' But Venezuelan officials insist that his recent threats to sever ties with Washington -- thereby suspending the export of 1.5 million barrels of oil a day -- are more than the rhetoric of a populist rallying domestic support. ``When the president talks, it is not a joke,'' said Mary Pili Hernández, a senior Foreign Ministry official. ``The only country Venezuela has bad relations with is the United States; with all other countries we have good or very good relations. But with just one word, the U.S. could resolve all of the problems. That word is `respect.' '' Chávez asserts that the 21st-century equivalent of the Cold War is the developed world's thirst for oil -- and its attempts to manipulate weaker governments to secure it. Oil-rich Venezuela sells 60 to 65 percent of its crude oil to the United States, making it the fourth-largest U.S. oil supplier. This year, near-record oil prices have helped Chávez finance a variety of social programs that he vows will make the country more independent of U.S. influence. Observers say the oil revenue also has emboldened Chávez's foreign-policy strategy. He has recently signed oil agreements with Argentina, Brazil and his Caribbean neighbors and has launched efforts to strengthen ties with China through oil accords. Rafael Quiroz, an oil-industry analyst in Caracas, said the Chávez government believes that the conflict between developing countries endowed with such natural resources and nations with high demands will only intensify in coming years. Chávez would like to precipitate that conflict, Quiroz said. ``I think he's correct to try to speed up that kind of confrontation, because the developing world -- where 85 percent of world reserves are -- will stand in a better place after that,'' Quiroz said. ``Every day it is more apparent that oil is fundamental for Venezuela in its international relations, and it is the main ingredient Chávez uses to form strategic alliances.'' Complete archives at http://www.sitbot.net/ Please let us stay on topic and be civil. OM
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