Chavez Caught Red-Handed Sending Gasoline to Iran
The documents clearly show that Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., Venezuela’s government-owned petroleum company, sold at least 600,000 barrels of reformate in two shipments of 300,000 barrels each to the National Iranian Oil Company — Iran’s government-owned petroleum company — that were later shipped out of Venezuela in late December 2010.
These documents clearly debunk the lies the Venezuelan government has been telling the world about how Iran has become self-sufficient and is producing its own gasoline.
Venezuela’s top oil officials have been saying repeatedly after CISADA was passed that the country is not selling gasoline to Iran. As the ships were making their way to Iran, the country’s oil minister, Rafael Ramirez, brazenly denied that its government is involved in helping Iran overcome its gasoline deficiency. In a press conference in January, Mr. Ramirez said that the cuts in gasoline subsidies in Iran had brought down Iranian internal consumption of the product and that Iran had apparently “solved its problem.”
What he failed to mention was the role Hugo Chavez’s government was playing in solving that problem. And it hardly comes as a surprise.
Venezuela’s Chavez and Iran’s Khamenei are kindred spirits. Both have severely restricted freedom of speech and curbed political opposition in their countries. What’s surprising is the extent to which the American government has ignored the reports about Venezuela’s involvement in helping Iran break sanctions, which could result in endangering every country in the Middle East if Iran obtains nuclear weapons.
But now, in the face of this new evidence, is the U.S. government going to take tough measures against PDVSA, or is it going to simply skirt around the issue as it has for months when reports kept streaming in about Venezuela’s covert help to Iran?
Didn’t see that coming…not.
so, please explain why it matters…no one we know is going to do anything about …anything.
Barry’s chum Hugo doing something wrong…? Playing his a$$-kissy friend Barry for a chump…? SAY IT ISN’T SO.
Doesn’t seem like a US act signed by Obama would be binding on a foreign owned entity operating in a foreign country. Are Venezuelan companies also going to have to provide healthcare per Obamacare? Everyone already knows that Chavez is a bad character. “Breaking News” and “caught red-handed” seem a little over the top.
If you seriously think the position of the US is that foreign countries are expected to obey US laws like ObamaCare, then you didn’t understand this article (and maybe not much else either).
The explanation is really simple. This law only restricts US trade:
1. To put economic pressure on Iran to stop its clandestine nuclear programs to develop atomic weapons, the US passed a law called the “Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA)”.
2. CISADA required domestic and foreign companies to make a choice between doing business with Iran, or doing business with the US goverment and US companies.
3. Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. is a Venezuelan state-owned petroleum company that has been selling petroleum to the US government, US companies, and to foreign companies who do business with the US and US companies.
4. Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. claimed they were in compliance with CISADA, so they could continue to make money off of the US market.
5. Now proof has been revealed publically that Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. lied about complying with CISADA, and has been enabling Iran to defeat the US sanctions and to continue developing nuclear weapons.
6. Now President Obama must decide whether to continue excusing his Progressive pal Hugo Chavez for supporting Iran’s nuclear weapons development, or to obey the US law he personally signed and ban Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. and all companies that do business with Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. from doing business with the US and US companies.
Correct. Venezuela isn’t bound by US law, however much the US would like it to be.
And I don’t see the US trying to enforce their embargo by blockading Venezuelan ports to prevent Venezuelan petroleum products from leaving that country (which would be futile anyway, they could pipe it to another country and ship from there).
At most the US can impose sanctions under this act on any dealings the Venezuelan company has with the US, like banning them from selling to US customers or from receiving goods and services from US suppliers, if the act allows for such sanctions.
If we had declared war on Iran when they took our embassy staff prisoner (an act of war under international law), we wouldn’t be having these problems. When you have an enemy, you fight and defeat them, you do not impose sanctions. That we are afraid to confront those who attack us means that we are going to have endless problems — this is a surprise? Read a history of 1937-38. If we had declared war on Iran, even if we had not defeated them yet, we would be allowed to blockade our enemy to cut off supplies. Perfectly legal when at war. And no problema with Hugo. The right thing to do is simple, and hard; doing the wrong thing is complicated, and easy.
Looks like Hugo has pissed off the Rothschild Zionists!!
Hugo has also pissed off the Chupacabra. That was a big mistake.
There is a reason why Iran stated building refineries in Venezuela starting in 2006. This has *not* been a secret:
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Iran_To_Build_Oil_Refinery_In_Venezuela.html
Now why exactly would Iran go to the trouble of building oil refineries in Venezuela if they didn’t intend to benefit from that construction?
From the 2006 article linked above:
“Energy Minister and head of Petroleos de Venezuela Rafael Ramirez said the agreement would benefit both countries, adding that after the refinery comes online Iran will import gasoline from Venezuela. Iranian Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh is in Caracas to attend the 140th extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which opened June 1.”
So this should surprise nobody since that was the entire point of building the refineries in the first place. So it would seem that State has a knack for spotting the obvious in a sea of obscurity.
Roger is spot on…why would foreign nations be expected to honor US legislation…? there is something intrinsically wrong in this belief and approach, it will backfire when common sense is applied.
There are so many internal problems the US is unable to solve, or unwilling. Running all over the globe playing customs agent is nonsense and just obscures the fact the nation’s financial system is ripping apart at the seams.
Lets fix our own problems, then worry about gasoline sales between foreign entities.
“Have we no destroyers left?”
Winston Spenser Churchill
It’s really hard to figure out who should be shot first.
One thing we do know for sure is that President Sputnik is a monumental screw-up.
I’m starting to see a bit of a trend at PJM recently. Seems like more tea bagggers (the rand paulian anti Jew- isolationists) are here and getting stronger. To you anti zionist tea party quacks. Your attempt to sacrifice 6 million Jews in Israel in the name of anti-intervention is apalling and un-American. As Israel goes, so does the world. Not much into history huh? 1932 Reichstag elections ring a bell. Wake up folks. We must protect our vital allies and destroy the Iranian Nuclear Program Now!!’
What are you talking about? Every TEA Party participant I know not only loves history, but KNOWS history. We’re committed to the words “Never Again” & support Israel. In fact, we wonder what this administration will do next to further damage our relationship w/our only real ally in the Middle East. And no, I’m not a Jew…I’m a Catholic of Irish/Ukrainian descent (so there’s “just a tad” of annihilation in my own history). That you would brand an entire movement of freedom-loving Americans as “anti zionist tea party quacks & rand paulian anti Jew-isolationists” (whoever they are) shows you haven’t got a clue about what the TEA Party is. Your use of “tea bagger” exposes that ignorance & says far more about YOU than your support of Israel. If you think some wimpy, apologetic leftist president or ANYONE in his administration will come to Israel’s defense, think again. You’d better hope the TEA Party is getting stronger on PJM & everywhere…..it may be the only hope Israel has when it comes to Iran.
Tea baggers is an offensive term used by left wing nuts.
Tea Party enthusiast’s are NOT anti-Israel, and I am sick of the Paul family association with the Tea Party because they can not get anything going on their own. I have told the Tea Party Patriots they are going to have to publically come out against both Rand and Ron Paul or the majority of us will be disassociating from the organization.
If the “teabaggers” are willing to “sacrifice 6 million Jews in Israel”,
I guess we can say that the overwhelming amount of Americans that are Jewish which voted for obama, secretly wish the same.
I did not vote for obama and I surely do not appreciate the way his administration has treated Israel. Israel and the US have a strong alliance even w/o obama.
Steve…
Since you read PJM enough to notice trend, but not enough to understand ‘tea party’, Let me help you out.
The term ‘tea party, or tea bagger.. are just labels. Most all given those ‘labels’… don’t call themselves as such. We are nothing more than Constitutionalists. We believe in the strict reading of Our Constitution as referenced in The Federalist…. AND following it. Most all Constitutionalists, are fully aware of the trial and tribulations of our Israeli brethren. i.e. we know history… and promote the preservation of REAL history, not some PC deformed version.
I suppose you could find a Constitutionalist, that for some reason.. is anti-Jewish… but likewise you can find people with six toes… it happens, …but not often.
So dude, clean-up your act in lumping me and ‘us’ into the ‘hate the Jew crowd’ …cause it ain’t so. And you know the verbiage…
Hope this helps.
Girls… Well said
Im starting to see cracks in the PNAC / Israeli Mid East strategy start to appear…funny thing about supporting the overthrow of governments, you really don’t know where it will lead.
Invading Iraq was incredibly shortsighted, it has started domino’s falling that will reach Israel. What exactly will occur, nobody knows. What we do know is the great game Israel, England, and USA played for so many years in the Middle east is coming to its end, and things shall be set right again.
Be careful what you ask for, you might just get it.
Sanctions and resolutions are worthless without a naval blockade. Obama has more than enough means to enforce one but lacks the cojones.
What Obama does not understand is this is the right time to ratchet up pressure on the mullahs. We have what we have however and a chance to crack that egg is slipping away…Oh look something shiny.
I wouldnt worry too much about the antisemite Steveoh. The Rothschild reference is almost quaint. Ask him about the Illuminati and Bilderberg and he will blow an aneurysm. If you really want to see Jew hater swampland drop by the Daily Kos or Huffington Post.
Yeah there are some Counterpunch – Buchannon type wierdos hanging around but vast majority of tea party types would be more than happy to donate a couple aircraft carriers, a nuclear sub and a fleet of F-35s to Israel if they asked for them. Did you hear about the Arrow missile test off California yesterday? US Israel alliance is pretty solid where it counts even if the White House doesnt get it and current events will only strengthen that.
Do you really think Chavez is the least bit interested in any law passed in the USA? This Obama puff piece of legislation is for show only. I do not believe it will have any affect on the gasoline supply in Iran no matter what opinion pieces you jump on. If, in the slim chance it does, then the Iranian government will use all of the 40% for itself, and let the public drive camels.
1) Obama is Hugo
2) Obama is muslim
3) Obama is WEAK
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