Chavez warns US of possible oil supply cut

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned today that his nation, the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter, would cut off oil supplies to the United States if the US tries to “hurt” his country, news reports said.

“We want to supply oil to the United States. We are not going to avoid supplying oil unless the US government gets a little bit crazy and tries to hurt us,” he told reporters during a visit to India, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

“If there is any aggression, there will be no oil,” said Chavez.

Last month, Chavez and Cuban President Fidel Castro accused the United States of trying to assassinate the Venezuelan leader. The State Department called the allegations ridiculous.

Relations between the United States and Venezuela have deteriorated steadily since Chavez took office in February 1999.

Chavez has accused the United States repeatedly of efforts to destabilise his government. For its part, the Bush administration is uneasy about Chavez’s intimate ties with Castro and his perceived efforts to silence the Venezuelan media and his political opponents.