[freeangel]

It would sort of be nice if those foreign companies at least blew up the facilities before leaving.

[Fred Hayek]

Venezuela at this point needs a few Wyatt's Torches.

The only thing that would be keeping Venezuela from imploding in the near future would be the Chicoms propping it up, effectively making Venezuela a PRC client state. I would seriously consider tasking some Keyholes to make regular passes - be interesting what may be found.

As for inside Venezuela, a lot of good PdVSA people are out of work due to not being "politically reliable", in fact the government has called them "stupid, mentally deficient". I have worked with some of these people. They would agree that Chavez needs to take a dirt nap.

[JeffersonRepublic.com]

{It would sort of be nice if those foreign companies at least blew up the facilities before leaving.}

Blewing up oil facilities in this type of market would shoot oil prices through the roof. We must become less dependent of foreign sources of oil before they control our economy.

We need more domestic oil, ethanol, better fuel economy, plug-in hybrids, anything that will reduce our foreign consumption. Otherwise, the US economy will continue to move more and more into the oil producing countries control.

[MrBlueSky2005]

It would sort of be nice if those foreign companies at least blew up the facilities before leaving.

Indeed, where is Ragnar Danneskjöld when you need him and why does almost every article on Venezuala read like something out of Atlas Shrugged?

[bert]

.......It would sort of be nice if those foreign companies at least blew up the facilities before leaving.......

Perhaps the French company has the word from Chirac that Venezuela will be invaded by French commandos to hold the French oil assets. ;)

[Smokin' Joe]

Nothing so radical is necessary. There aare ways to make things not work so well--or ever again without a refit, and still preserve most of the infrastructure.