By William J. Rodriguez Gamboa

Translated By Carly Gatzert

February 20, 2006

Original Article (Spanish)

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Will Find it Very
Difficult to Fund His Revolution If He Can't Keep His
Oil Wells Pumping, and His Refineries Operating.

For many, the degree of political antagonism between Venezuela and the United States can be reduced to the malfunctioning of microphones, but I personally believe the issue is in fact much more serious.

Despite the changes made by top U.S. State Department officials, Washington has still developed an unmistakably systematic agenda with respect to Venezuela, encompassing political opposition, attempts to discredit it, and attempted isolation.  These actions are becoming progressively more obvious and less susceptible to misinterpretation.

Recent declarations by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the U.S. House Committee on International Relations that, "Venezuela is one of the greatest challenges for the United States," serves as a clear example of Washington’s political decision to oppose Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.  With this statement, Condoleezza makes it quite clear that this conflict is not merely a result of malfunctioning microphones.

I am not at all confident that we [Venezuelans] are prepared for the implications of such a statement; although in diplomatic terms the most serious event to occur has been the discharge of the military attaché to the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela and the subsequent expulsion of a Venezuelan official from our Embassy in the U.S., there have also been some very calculated moves that indicate extreme danger, and which should be of great concern.

The blockade that has been imposed on us, not just for the purchase of aircraft, but also the purchase of necessary parts to maintain Venezuela’s fleet of F-16s, serves as a clear signal that [the U.S.] hopes to impede the operation of the Venezuelan Air Force.

Washington’s interventionist attitude regarding the purchase of parts needed by the Venezuelan Army in order to maintain its tanks and artillery, not to mention equipment required by the Marines, is systematic; if in addition to the blockade we add a disastrous failure to maintain our equipment, traditionally marked by the theft and corruption that has always surrounded our Armed Forces’ business dealings, then we will better understand our current level of defenselessness.

Is Hugo Chavez' Bolivarian Revolution About
to Run Out of Fuel ... Literally?

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Without even considering the combat power of the empire [the U.S.], which in a conventional confrontation would undoubtedly defeat our Armed Forces within a few minutes, it is evident that this blockade of equipment and replacement parts for artillery pieces is not an isolated incident.  On the contrary, this is part of a plan currently in place that I believe will soon encompass other areas.

I have it on good authority that some North American contractors are delaying and interrupting the delivery of equipment and replacement parts essential to our petroleum industry. If this becomes a clear political agenda, we will have major difficulties keeping the Venezuelan oil industry in operation.

Whoever believes that the empire trembles with the threat of closing CITGO refineries are very much mistaken; this would be the most foolish way to surrender them to the gringos, by allowing them to take the refineries without even having to use military force.

I only hope that those who analyze this agenda as it progresses, thoroughly evaluate the serious consequences of this political and military spectacle; I hope that they don't face military directives forcing them to choose between the Motherland or Death, but rather begin to evaluate deep and far-reaching tactics and strategies, openly anticipating that this agenda is neither fleeting nor momentary.