A threat by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to stop oil exports to the US has raised the stakes over a referendum today that he has called in a bid to expand his powers.
Chavez told tens of thousands of supporters late on Friday he was putting Venezuela's oil field and refineries under military "protection" and would halt the exports "if this [referendum] is used as a pretext to start violence in Venezuela."
He accused the CIA of preparing to spread unrest during the plebiscite in an effort to topple him, and said if its operation was activated "there won't be a drop of oil from Venezuela to the United States."
PHOTO: AP
The menace was an escalation of anti-US rhetoric Chavez has long employed and highlighted both Venezuela's pivotal role as South America's biggest oil producer and the parlous relations between Washington and Caracas.
Venezuela, an OPEC member, currently exports approximately 60 percent of the two million barrels of oil it produces per day to the US, which relies on them for 11 percent of its oil needs.
"Venezuela: We will never be a colony of the United States or of anyone -- we are free," he told supporters.
Chavez faces a real risk of losing the referendum -- an unprecedented situation for the president, who has always triumphed in elections by comfortable margins during his eight-year rule.
The latest polls show a dead-heat in voter intentions, with many Chavez loyalists in Venezuela slums balking at his proposals.
The referendum calls for a scrapping of term limits for the president, opening the way for Chavez to stay on past 2013, when he is due to step down.
The 53-year-old president said on Friday he wanted to reign "until 2050," if the people backed him.
Changes to allow the government to take over the central bank, expropriate private property in the name of "economic socialism" and gag the media in times of emergency are also being proposed.
Opponents, whose number has swelled in past weeks with the defection of some Chavez allies, say the reforms would amount to making Venezuela a Cuba-like communist state, with an elected "dictator."
Chavez, who reveres Cuba's Fidel Castro, dismisses those ranked against him as "traitors" acting to further US "imperialism."
"A vote `yes' is a vote for Chavez -- a vote `no' is a vote for [US President] George W. Bush," he said.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS