From the UKDailyMailOnline:
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has died in hospital at the age of 58 after developing a severe respiratory infection during his battle with cancer.
The country’s vice president Nicolas Maduro, surrounded by other government officials, made the announcement during a national television broadcast tonight.
He said that the long-standing president died at 4:25pm local time, using the broadcast to call for ‘unity, tranquility and understanding’.
The death could trigger an election to determine who will replace the socialist leader, after his illness prevented him from taking the oath of office after being re-elected last year.
A government spokesman had earlier said that the far-left leader, who has held control in the country for 14 years, was in a ‘very delicate’ condition in hospital.
The news comes just hours after Mr Maduro announced that two U.S. Embassy officials were expelled for meeting with military officers and planning to destabilise the country.
But here comes the spin and attack on America:
Maduro also said there was ‘no doubt’ that Chavez’s cancer, which was first diagnosed in June 2011, was induced by foul play by ‘the historical enemies of our homeland’.
Cindy Sheehan, Harry Belafonte and Sean Penn are all bursting with tears today.
There’s the spin. So what is the future of Venezuela?
Frankly, I have only one care or concern about Venezuela and it has to do with oil.
1. Canada
2. Mexico
3. Saudi Arabia
4. Venezuela
5. Nigeria
6. Angola
7. Iraq
8. Algeria
9. United Kingdom
10. Brazil
These are the top ten sources of foreign oil for the United States, listed in terms of amount, from greatest to least.
Venezuela was already a destabilized country in the southern hemisphere. And our number four oil source. Citgo in America is 50% owned by Venezuela.
I couldn’t care less about Chavez. But my question: how will Venezuela go now? Further left? More anti-American? And how will that affect oil production and therefore gas availability in the United States with gas prices already at major highs even before the annual “Summer price gouging”?
BZ
