Energy News  
Analysis: U.S. terror list eyes Venezuela

disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only
by Carmen Gentile
Miami (UPI) Mar 19, 2008
Two U.S. representatives from Florida introduced legislation seeking to designate Venezuela a state sponsor of terror, a move that could hurt the country's oil sector and U.S. relations in the region.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Connie Mack, both Republicans, made their request amid allegations Venezuela pledged $300 million in funding to Colombia's leading leftist rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

"Evidence that the Venezuelan government might have given aid and comfort to violent extremists is reprehensible and must not be ignored," said Ros-Lehtinen, who is the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "The decision of Venezuelan leaders to support the criminal acts of these violent extremists has poisoned the region with instability and distrust."

A recent memo released by the lawmakers to the media also notes Venezuela's expressed "willingness to cooperate" with Iran on proposed joint nuclear-energy projects. Iran is already on the U.S. State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism. Other members are Cuba and North Korea.

Interpol is investigating a laptop allegedly containing documents linking Venezuela to FARC that belonged to a rebel leader killed by Colombian forces. If those documents turn out to be true, it could set the stage for lawmakers to push through a terror-sponsor designation for Venezuela, effectively putting its multibillion-dollar oil industry in jeopardy.

For the Bush administration to push for sanctions, however, it would first need the legal framework to do so, said Jorge Pinon, a researcher at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American studies at the University of Miami and former president of Amoco Oil Latin America.

Proof of funding for FARC on the behalf of Venezuela would be a direct violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1373, of 2001, which says "states shall refrain from providing any form of support, active or passive, to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts."

"Calling Venezuela a terrorist state would give the United States a legal reason to impose sanctions," Pinon told United Press International.

However, designating Venezuela a terrorism sponsor and imposing sanctions against one of the United States' largest oil suppliers could prove too damning to the U.S. economy, he added, noting oil prices would likely increase $5-$10 per barrel were oil shipments from Venezuela halted or curtailed.

Venezuela provides the United States with about 1.4 million barrels of oil per day, mostly crude. But Venezuela would be paralyzed, too: The United States is its No. 1 customer and its refining facilities lie in this country.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan oil officials received some welcome news Tuesday when a judge in London unfroze $12 billion in Venezuelan assets seized last month amid a legal battle with U.S. petroleum giant ExxonMobil over the nationalization of its projects in Venezuela.

While most other foreign firms accepted the terms of the nationalization in which Venezuela's state-run energy firm PDVSA assumed majority control of their projects, ExxonMobil refused, leading to the seizure of its stake in the oil-rich Orinoco River.

"We won, our country won, our homeland won," Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said after Tuesday's announcement. "The judge's decision is a lesson to ExxonMobil."

But the battle between Exxon and PDVSA is far from over, said Patrick Esteruelas, a Latin America analyst for the New York-based think tank Eurasia Group.

"Both companies will likely harden their positions, and continue to battle each other out in the courts over the next several years," he said.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Israel slams Swiss-Iranian gas deal as 'unfriendly act'
Jerusalem (AFP) March 19, 2008
Israel on Wednesday slammed Switzerland for signing a deal with Iran's state gas firm, branding the move an "unfriendly act" hampering efforts to halt its arch foe's nuclear programme.







  • Analysis: U.S. terror list eyes Venezuela
  • CleanTech Biofuels Begins First Phase Of Municipal Solid Waste To Ethanol Project
  • VIASPACE Reports On Market Penetration For Clean Energy Products
  • UN offices in Geneva look to the lake for green energy

  • Florida Power And Light Welcomes Initial Approval For New Nuclear Power Units At Turket Point
  • India govt, allies to hold US nuclear deal talks in April
  • Romania wants to build second nuclear power plant after 2020
  • ORNL Part Of Project To Help Power Developing Nations

  • Scientists Identify Origin Of Hiss In Upper Atmosphere
  • NASA Co-Sponsors Ocean Voyage To Probe Climate-Relevant Gases
  • Satellite Data To Deliver State-Of-The-Art Air Quality Information
  • New Model Revises Estimates Of Terrestrial Carbon Dioxide Uptake

  • Macedonia plants two million trees to revive its forests
  • Deforestation Worsening In Brazil Claims Greenpeace
  • Secrets Of Cooperation Between Trees And Fungi Revealed
  • Researcher: Wild California just a memory

  • Prized fish the latest liquid asset for Asia's super-rich
  • Mediterranean tuna at risk from 'bloated' fishing fleet: WWF
  • Green group issues warning over nanotechnology in food
  • Brazilian protesters destroy GM crops: group

  • Hybrid cars may affect power distribution
  • Eden Energy Advances Practicality Of Hydrogen Cars
  • China reports more than 81,000 road deaths last year
  • The Work Truck Show 2008 Showcases Hybrid Trucks And Alternative Fuel Technology

  • A380 superjumbo makes European debut in London
  • Aviation industry must act fast on climate change: Airbus chief
  • Northrop, EADS to invest 600 mln dlrs in Alabama site
  • China air passenger traffic up 16.8 percent in 2007: state media

  • Nuclear Power In Space - Part 2
  • Outside View: Nuclear future in space
  • Nuclear Power In Space

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement