The Wall Street Journal
Chavez Says US Troops In Colombia For Venezuela Oil
Aug 05--Venezuela's president said Wednesday that a plan to put additional U.S. troops in Colombia is aimed at a possible attack on Venezuela to get its huge oil reserves.
"We are glad to share our oil right now with everyone including the U.S., but if [the U.S.] invades ... there will not be oil for anyone," Hugo Chavez said during a press conference.
The plan announced by Colombia last month to let additional U.S. troops operate on Colombian military bases, is ostensibly designed to ramp up the fight against drugs. But Chavez said the real reason for more troops in Venezuela's next door neighbor is so the U.S. can inch closer to Venezuela's oil.
"For the empire [the U.S.], this is what they want, oil," he said. Petroleum, he said, is the reason "the Yankees" attacked Iraq, and it is why they now have Iran and Venezuela in their sights.
Venezuela has some 99 billion barrels of proven reserves and is among the largest oil-producing nations in the world.
Amid the plans for U.S. troop additions, Chavez said his government aims to purchase a dozen of tanks to bulk up its defense. Venezuelan officials have recently spoken of plans to buy tanks and other military hardware from the Russians.
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