CHAVEZ: USGOV WANTS ME DEAD

So, this guy, he's a local and he grows up poor, joins the military, where he excels, becoming a well-respected leader. Guy runs for the highest office in his land and is elected. Tells the big companies and rich folks that they'll be making less money off of their number 1 commodity and the poor folks will be getting more money because said commodity comes from the land everyone lives on top of. Guy then survives a coup attempt, and five referendums and a recall vote. Now is convinced that George W. Bush wants him dead.

Guy's name is Hugo Chavez and he is the legally elected president of Venezuela. You can read my Pocket Review of a docu made about him and the coup attempt. You can also read about Greg Palast uncovering evidence that the USGov helped pay for one of the recall votes. You might want to check out how the recall vote went despite USGov interference. Then, there's this story about how the exit polls were off compared to the recall vote results so the opposition cried fowl. (Ha! That's funny compared to what happened in the US election just 2 months later.)

So, there you have it. Think Chavez is nuts? Check out what an article from News.BBC.co.uk said covering Chavez's claims:

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has recently described the former paratrooper as a "negative force" in Latin America, while CIA chief Porter Goss said Venezuela was a possible source of instability in the region.

Washington blames Mr Chavez of being heavy-handed towards Venezuela's opposition, and has recently criticised Caracas for arms purchases from Russia.

Diplomatic ties between Washington and Caracas have soured since Mr Chavez came to power in 1999.

Hm, I wonder why that is... oh WAIT! I bet it's because Chavez decided to get a little picky about who he sells oil to. I remember reading something about him turning away anyone with American money who was interested in buying oil in favor of trading goods and services for oil. Why is this bad? Well, most of the oil in the world is traded using American cash--Petro-Dollars, to be specific--a kind of oil-only American dollar. Every OPEC country trades oil ONLY in Petro-Dollars--except Venezuela. Actually, I'm not sure if this is still true. I know Iraq had started selling oil only to buyers paying with a Euro back in 2001. Look what happened to him.

But wait, there's more from that BBC article:

"If, by the hand of the devil, those perverse plans succeed... forget about Venezuelan oil, Mr Bush, " Mr Chavez said during his weekly TV show.

"If you try, you will regret it Comrade Mr Bush."

Venezuela is one of the world's leading oil exporters - it sells about 1.5 million barrels a day to the US.

There's one last bit from that article:

Mr Chavez's comments echoed the words of Cuban President Fidel Castro who said last week: "If Chavez is assassinated, the blame will fall on Bush."

"I say that as someone who has survived hundreds of the empire's (assassination) plans," Mr Castro added.

"Now, I am going to say it. Neither Fidel Castro nor I talk nonsense," Mr Chavez said on Sunday.

Well, quoting Castro will hardly get you any points in America, but the thought was there. We KNOW Castro has been a target of the USGov in the past, so he might know something about this.

Either way, it'll be interesting to see how things progress between us and a major oil supplier. If Chavez feels threatened, I'd say he should cut off oil to the US. Then we can watch as the US decides Venezuela has WMD and needs to be invaded.

Hey, remember when the biggest deal in the news was Clinton lying about oral sex?

My kingdom for a Repub who will admit that Bush has made a colossal mess of the world on a highly rated, nationally televised broadcast TV show (no, the Daily Show doesn't count).

Don't forget to read that BBC article to make up your own mind.

You might also see if you can catch that docu I mentioned.

From News.BBC.co.uk:

Last Updated: Monday, 21 February, 2005, 00:59 GMT

Chavez says US plans to kill him

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said he believes the US government is planning to assassinate him.

"If they kill me, the name of the person responsible is [President] George Bush," Mr Chavez said.

Mr Chavez - who offered no evidence to back his claim - said any attempt on his life would backfire and threatened to cut off oil supplies to America.

He was apparently reacting to growing criticism by top US officials of his left-wing government.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has recently described the former paratrooper as a "negative force" in Latin America, while CIA chief Porter Goss said Venezuela was a possible source of instability in the region.

Washington blames Mr Chavez of being heavy-handed towards Venezuela's opposition, and has recently criticised Caracas for arms purchases from Russia.

Diplomatic ties between Washington and Caracas have soured since Mr Chavez came to power in 1999.

There was no immediate response to his comments from Washington.

'No-nonsense talk'

"If, by the hand of the devil, those perverse plans succeed... forget about Venezuelan oil, Mr Bush, " Mr Chavez said during his weekly TV show.

"If you try, you will regret it Comrade Mr Bush."

Venezuela is one of the world's leading oil exporters - it sells about 1.5 million barrels a day to the US.

Mr Chavez has repeatedly accused the US of backing Venezuela's opposition to oust or even kill him, a charge Washington denies.

He has alleged that the White House played part in an April coup in 2002, which briefly removed him from power.

Mr Chavez's comments echoed the words of Cuban President Fidel Castro who said last week: "If Chavez is assassinated, the blame will fall on Bush."

"I say that as someone who has survived hundreds of the empire's (assassination) plans," Mr Castro added.

"Now, I am going to say it. Neither Fidel Castro nor I talk nonsense," Mr Chavez said on Sunday.

© BBC MMV