Oil Wars

This article, which speaks for itself, is great. Its good to see that despite all the oppositions' and U.S. and British efforts at disinformation the truth still does prevail:

Hands off Venezuela, London mayor tells US

London's Mayor Ken Livingstone told the United States to keep its hands off Venezuela, in a spirited defence of the Latin American nation's president Hugo Chavez.

Writing in the Morning Star, a small British socialist newspaper, Livingstone accused the Bush administration in Washington of trying to undermine democracy in Venezuela.

"In reality, Venezuela today is one of the most democratic countries in the entire world," Livingstone said, recalling that eight national votes since 1998 have affirmed the legitimacy of Chavez's administration.

"The great majority of the people of Venezuela continue to live in very harsh conditions, but it is hugely encouraging to see, at the start of the 21st century, a government committed to the democratic and social transformation of one of the most important countries in Latin America and the Caribbean."

"They should be allowed to carry out the democratically expressed wishes of their people without further interference from George Bush's administration," added the mayor, a self-described socialist nicknamed "Red Ken".

Livingstone added: "London will certainly be extending the hand of friendship to Caracas, Venezuela's capital city, and we will make clear our support for their right to determine their own future."

The chill between Caracas and Washington continued Friday when Chavez warned that he was taking potential steps to cut off oil shipments to the United States, in the event Washington goes too far campaigning against his rule.

Just the day before, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Chavez a "challenge to democracy" and said Venezuela's close ties with communist Cuba were "a particular danger" in Latin America.

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