Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has threatened to cut off oil sales to the United States in an “economic war” if the Texas-based oil giant Exxon Mobil wins court judgments challenging Venezuela’s right to hold a majority share in four oil projects. Venezuela’s oil industry was nationalized 30 years ago, but Exxon Mobil is still going after its state oil company in US, British, and Dutch courts.

A British court has already frozen $12 billion USD in assets. Exxon Mobil and Houston-based ConocoPhillips are disputing the terms they were granted last year as minority partners for the four heavy oil projects in the Orinoco River basin, one of the richest oil deposits in the world, in international court as well. Hopefully, Chavez will be forced to stop holding our oil hostage under his country’s landscape.

Chavez rightly accused Exxon Mobil of being one with Washington as part of corporate “worldwide mafias”. During his weekly radio and television program, Chavez said, “I speak to the US empire, because that’s the master: continue and you will see that we won’t send one drop of oil to the empire of the United States.” He continued, “The outlaws of Exxon Mobil will never again rob us.”

Due to the billions from Venezuela’s oil revenue benefiting the country’s citizens rather than Western corporations, oil companies have been challenging Chavez’s right to nationalize projects through various lawsuits. “If the economic war continues against Venezuela, the price of oil is going to reach $200 (a barrel) and Venezuela will join the economic war,” Chavez said. “And more than one country is willing to accompany us in the economic war.” America is Venezuela’s top client, importing 1.23 million barrels of crude oil a day.

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