Chavez to Help U.S. Poor

A pretty amazing article from the Washington Post about the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, and how he plans to use his government owned oil company to subsidize heating costs to low income people in the U.S. From the article:

The chief executive of Citgo wrote to the senators that the company is "studying potential plans for ongoing, sustained assistance programs in the United States with the goal of lifting our neighbors in need to an improved quality of life." Citgo is planning to announce today that it will provide discounted heating oil this winter to many low-income residents of Massachusetts, Venezuelan officials said, adding that the plan was in the works before the senators sought help. The company also plans to offer similar aid in New York.

Chavez is no fan of the Bush administration and the article alludes partly to the fact that he may be doing this as another way to "ruffle feathers" inside the White House. As the article reads, "This is the second time in recent months that Chavez has used oil to tweak the United States, analysts said. In September, Venezuela made a very public announcement about diverting shipments of gasoline to the United States to help prevent shortages after hurricanes Katrina and Rita knocked out refineries along the Gulf Coast."

Click here to read the full article.

--Tom Hayes