Hugo Chávez’s war of words with US president George W Bush has escalated, with the Venezuelan president threatening to sell his nation’s oil refineries in the US. Chávez has threatened to sell Citgo Petroleum’s refineries and divert US oil exports to other countries. “I could easily order the closing of the refineries that we have in the United States. I could easily sell the oil that we sell to the United States to other countries...[to] real friends and allies like China, India or Europe,” he told supporters at a rally last month.
Chávez also warned US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice “not to mess” with him after she claimed that Venezuela’s ties with Cuba were “particularly dangerous” to democracy in Latin America. Chávez insists that his government is democratic and accuses the US government of conspiring against him.