Venezuela threatens anew to turn off oil spigot to US

CARACAS (AFP) – Venezuela’s energy minister, Rafael Ramirez, said that Caracas is “ready and willing” to cut off its oil supply to the United States, if there are any signs of aggression from the superpower toward his country.

…..”The US market is not indispensable to us,” he told thousands of young people taking part in a youth festival at a Caracas arena.

“We are prepared to do that, and we stand ready to defend our rights,” Ramirez told the official news agency ABN.

On Sunday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened to end oil exports to the United States if Washington did not stop its “aggressions.”

“We do not want to break relations with the US government; it is not in our plans,” Chavez said. “But if the aggressions continue, … this could put diplomatic relations between Venezuela and the United States at risk.”

Yahoo! News