Chavez Threatens to Blow up Oil Fields
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday again raised the specter of U.S. designs to oust him and promised that his government will blow up his country’s oil fields if the United States should ever attack.
U.S. officials have repeatedly denied any military plans against Chavez, but also call him a threat to stability in the region.
Speaking to other South American leaders, Chavez said his conflict with Washington is rooted in the U.S. thirst to control oil. He said the Americans will be denied that in Venezuela, which is the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter and one of the biggest suppliers to the U.S. market.
If the United States attacks, Chavez said, “We won’t have any other alternative - blow up our own oil fields - but they aren’t going to take that oil.”
