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Chavez Casts Himself as the Anti-Bush***….Since threatening to cut off oil shipments to the United States, which buys 1.5 million barrels a day from Venezuela, Chavez has been traveling the globe looking for new markets and allies to unite against "the imperialist power." He recently signed energy deals with France, India and China, which is searching for new sources of oil to power its industrial expansion. Chavez also has made a series of arms purchases, including one for military helicopters from Russia.

And on Friday, Chavez hosted President Mohammad Khatami of Iran, a nation that has a secretive nuclear program and has been labeled by Bush as part of an "axis of evil."

.... "All over the world, there is a clamor for equality . . . and profound rejection of the imperialist desires of the U.S. government. Faced with the threat of the U.S. government against our brother people in Iran, count on us for all our support." …***

Citgo oil chief a close ally of Venezuela's Chavez***CARACAS - In the waning days of 2002, a little-known manager from the national oil company appeared in Caracas to file a petition requesting that Venezuela's highest court end a massive oil strike that had brought the country to its knees.

This maneuver failed to end the strike, but it did attract the attention of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the target of the opposition-led oil lockdown.

That obscure manager was Félix Rodríguez, who within weeks of his major public appearance would begin to shoot up through the ranks of state oil giant Petróleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA. He became a corporate director, then vice president of exploration and production. Last month he was catapulted to the presidency of PDVSA's biggest subsidiary, Citgo.

The arrival of Rodríguez, whose style is more reminiscent of the boisterous Chavez than a typical top energy executive, puts a new face at the head of the huge Houston-based refining and marketing operation.

……………The nomination of Rodríguez as Citgo president also coincided with the arrival of several new board members, including Bernard Mommer, a German-born Marxist and behind-the-scenes architect of Chavez's oil policy.

Mommer helped create Venezuela's 2001 Hydrocarbons Law, which boosted royalty rates from 16.6 percent to 30 percent and requires a state majority in all upstream oil projects. Mommer has never trusted PDVSA or Citgo, viewing them as instruments to prevent revenue from reaching the nation. Venezuelan energy authorities in recent weeks confirmed they are in discussions with several corporations for the sale of certain Citgo properties. The announcement that PDVSA was considering such changes coincided with the appointment of Rodríguez at Citgo. In his 29-year career in the industry, Rodríguez has been almost entirely devoted to finding and producing oil. He has almost no experience in refining or financial administration. ……..