Lynch has reservations about Venezuelan oil

CONCORD, N.H. –New Hampshire is waiting to hear back from Venezuela on the possibility of buying cheap home heating oil, but Gov. John Lynch says he has serious reservations about dealing with that country’s leftist government.

Citgo, which is owned by the Venezuelan government, has struck deals to sell discounted heating oil to residents in New York City, Massachusetts and Maine. Rhode Island and Vermont are poised to sign off on their own deals, as well.

But Lynch said he does not want New Hampshire to do anything to advance the agenda of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a critic of the U.S. government who has called President Bush a “madman.”

“I’m always willing to look at things,” Lynch said. “But I would have serious reservations about this.”

Boston Globe