If Citgo is a company owned by Chevez/Venezuela, why are we supporting he who hates us and buying his oil.?

Question

Chevez of Venezuela hates the U.S. and is waging an eventual war (South America against the U.S.). Then why are we americans buying gallons of gas everyday at Citgo pumps? I guess we have gotten to the point that if it doesnt effect us now then who cares, we will worry about it when the time comes. Citgo is making Chevez richer and richer and he is buying weapons and building a million man army. Why? I think that question can be easily answered. We are so busy with Iraq that he is advancing his anti-U.S. slogan that is being "bought" by every one who is listening. Chevez is fighting hard for a seat on the U.N. Council. Again....Why? He is not even being challenged because we are far too stretched with Afganistan, Iraq, North Korea and Iran. Though Chevez is evil he is brilliant. In order to put a dint in his efforts we must boycott Citgo!!! Hate the Bush cabinet or not but in a few years just remember this....I told you so! Venezuela will wage war. How many more enemies will it take?

Answer 1

7-11 associated gas stations have quit carrying Citgo or will soon. They didn't renew their contract.

What about all the oil that comes from Saudi Arabia and the rest of the middle east? The US is an ally of Saudi Arabia and the current king gets along well with Bush. But 15 of the 19 hijackers were from there. They murdered 3000 Americans, they didn't just criticize our President. And the radical version of Islam widely practiced in Saudi Arabia preaches hatred of the US -- it's not just those hijackers who truly hate the US!

Personally I'd rather have a larger share of the US supply come from Venezuela, they don't have a RELIGION that hates Americans, and they haven't attacked the US. Chavez has partially nationalized the oil industry and THAT'S what Bush really doesn't like.

Answer 2

Most people just didnt know that Chavez owned Citgo. Now that they know, people are boycotting big time. I saw today that Citgo took out a full page ad in USA Today to "set the record straight" wherein they take shots at 7-11, American politics and the AMERICAN PUBLIC. These Citgo people are unbelievable to me. Count me in on the boycott.

Answer 3

You obviously don't really know much about Chavez except what you hear on TV. Here's a brief synopsis of his political career in Venezuela.

Hugo Chavez won two Presidential elections in Venezuela, in 1998 and in 2000, by the largest margins in forty years.

Chavez ratified a new Constitution guaranteeing new rights for women and indigenous peoples. He cleared out the plague of graft and corruption in Venezuelan government by restructuring the legislative and judicial branches. He instituted a government-funded breakfast and lunch program for schoolchildren that has helped increase enrollment by over a million students. He provided free health care and public education up to the university level.

How did he pay for all these programs?

Oil.

Chavez redirected vast sums of money from Venezuela's petroleum production away from the multinationals, which had been profiting wildly, towards his progressive government programs.

That drew the ire of the American petroleum industry and not
long after Bush took office, the decision was made. Chavez had to go.

Bush claimed that Chavez's earning of a majority of the vote in two separate elections did not necessarily confer legitimacy upon his administration.

(Pardon me for choking on the irony.)

In spring of 2002 Chavez survived an attempted coup The common people took to the streets in support of him in defiance of the coup and shamed a substantial part of the military into joining them. Thus, Hugo Chavez was reinstated as President.

In October 2004 U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. wrote a letter, co-signed by 11 colleagues, to CEOs of nine oil companies. Reed asked the companies to donate 10% of last years record profits to help low-income people pay their heating bills. ExxonMobil alone reported almost $10 billion in profits during just one quarter this year.

The CEO of only one company responded: Citgo, owned by a subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company. They agreed to sell heating oil at discounted rates to poorer communities in Massachusetts and the Bronx, N.Y.

This is the true nature of a country and a leader that you chose as an enemy.

Answer 4

Governments are good at managing public goods, like Jails, Schools, and Military. Oil is a private good. Governments do not manage those so well. If we did nationalize a oil company and sold to the US at below cost, we would deplete those resource quickly. The private sector is not building more refineries because it is not profitable for them to do even if you remove all the environment regulations that apply and you gave a tax break.

Answer 5

We buy his oil because the people of this country whine about gas prices and that "Big Oil" is gouging them.
We are the second or third largest exporter of oil and the largest importer,that is insane.Oil production ,sales and export/imports needs to be regulated .I am not usually for government control of anything but we could be importing far less oil if we just quit exporting any.

Answer 6

I started avoiding Citgo stations a year ago. Chavez wants to be a world leader instead of a 2-bit dictator in a small country. He and Evo Morales are tilted to the left and he thinks that his antics are going to draw attention. He feels that the attention will bring him power. He's a numbskull and it's regretful that he has any backing in the US at all. Danny Glover must be a totall idiot.

Answer 7

The US has no choice because oil is a scarce commodity. Thus, US will buy oil even if it comes from Venezuela.

Answer 8

I used to fill up at the Citgo, but after reading your question, I think I'll start going to the Marathon in town. I also fill up at Mickey Mart is that owned by the nut-cases?

Answer 9

Chavez hates our president - not americans. He has sold tons of heating oil at a loss to low income Americans. Funny that Exxon-Mobile hasn't done that..... who is it that really hates americans?

Answer 10

Shortly after the "diablo" thing, 7-11 dropped Citgo. I never bought it, but after that I have made sure that I don't.