Venezuela to scrap Colombia gasoline deal

Venezuela also is training 120 inspectors who will work with the military to curb gasoline contraband into Colombia. Motorists and truckers from Colombia buy huge amounts of low-priced gasoline and diesel at stations on the border with Venezuela and go right back to Colombia to resell it at double or more the price. That will now be coming to a sudden halt.

Even the contrabandistas are going to be highly pissed off with uribito and his u.s. bases now.

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http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/media/ALeqM5i_riCVfiBVO5ipQFs_mjvRF1Rm1Q?size=s2


(AFP) – 3 hours ago

CARACAS — Venezuela will not renew a recently-expired deal that provided Colombia gasoline at cut-rate prices, Venezuelan energy minister Rafael Ramirez said, amid simmering tensions between the South American neighbors.

"The agreement was valid for one year, ending yesterday (Tuesday) and we do not see any reason to renew it," said the minister, who also heads state oil giant PDVSA.

His comments come amid heightened cross-border tensions over Colombia's decision to allow US troops and contractors to use seven of its military bases for anti-drug and anti-terrorism operations.

"We are not inclined to continue subsidizing the Colombian economy when they take such totally unfriendly decisions against our people," said Ramirez.

Under the deal Colombian border provinces had imported 4.5 million gallons (17 million liters) of Venezuelan gasoline each month at more than half the standard rate, a move to curb the illicit cross-border trade in fuel.

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

I have seen three different ones mentioned.

Here ya go Downwinder and Judi,

Lots of gringo troops and mercenaries operating all over Colombia; Special Forces, Dyncorp, Pentagon, State Department, DEA, Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines at the embassy and of course, in the shadows, CIA ...

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Military Programs
As of 2008 Plan Colombia's U.S.-funded military programs comprised:<38>

Army Aviation Brigade (2000-2008 cost: $844 million)
This program is executed by the U.S. State and Defense departments. It equips and trains the helicopter units of the Colombian Army. It is subdivided into various specific programs.

Plan Colombia Helicopter Program (PCHP) comprises helicopters provided for free by the U.S. government to the Colombian Army. The program needs 43 contract pilots and 87 contract mechanics to operate.
17 Bell UH-1N helicopters ( Former Canadian aircraft bought via US gov<39> )
22 Bell UH-1H (Huey II) helicopters
13 Sikorsky UH-60L helicopters

Foreign Military Sales (FMS) helicopters are purchased by the Colombian Army but supported by U.S. personnel.
20 Sikorsky UH-60L helicopters

Technical Assistance Field Team
Based at Tolemaida Army Base (Tolemaida, Cundinamarca), the team provides maintenance to U.S.-made helicopters.


Joint Initial Entry Rotary Wing School
Based at Melgar Air base (Melgar, Tolima), it is a flight school for Colombian combat-helicopter pilots. (THIS IS WHERE THE LITTLE 12-year-OLD CHILD WAS RAPED BY THE TWO GRINGOS) Additional pilot training is provided at the U.S. Army's helicopter training center (Fort Rucker, Alabama)


National Police Air Service (2000-2008 cost: $463 million)

The U.S. State Department provides support to approximately 90 aircraft operated by the Colombian National Police.
The U.S. Defense Department supports the construction of an aviation depot at Madrid Air Base (Madrid, Cundinamarca).

National Police Eradication Program (2000-2008 cost: $458 million)

This program is executed by a private company, Dyncorp, under the supervision of the U.S. State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). U.S. State Department-owned planes spray chemicals to destroy coca and oppium poppy crops in rural Colombia. From 2000 to 2008 more that 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of crops were destroyed.
13 Air Tractor AT-802 armored crop dusters
13 Bell UH-1N helicopters
4 Alenia C-27 cargo planes
National Police Interdiction Efforts (2000-2008 cost: $153 million)

The U.S. State Department equips and trains a Colombian National Police unit known as Junglas. The unit's 500 members are divided into three companies based in Bogota, Santa Marta, and Tulua.

Infrastructure Security Strategy (2000-2008 cost: $115 million)
This program secures part of the Cano Limon-Covenas Pipeline, benefiting international oil company Occidental Petroleum. Its air component has 2 Sikorsky UH-60 and 8 Bell UH-1H (Huey II) helicopters. Its ground component includes U.S. Special Forces training and equipment for 1,600 Colombian Army soldiers.

Army Ground Forces (2000-2008 cost: $104 million)

Joint Task Force Omega
It was established to operate in the central departments of Meta, Guaviare, and Caqueta. U.S. military advisors provided planning and intelligence support. The U.S. also provided weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and a base in La Macarena, Meta. It has about 10,000 soldiers.

Counternarcotics Brigade
It was established to operate in the southern departments of Putumayo and Caqueta. The U.S. Defense Department provided training and built bases in Tres Esquinas and Larandia, Caqueta. The U.S. State Department provided weapons, ammunition and training. It has about 2,300 soldiers.

Joint Special Forces Command
It was established to pursue wanted individuals and rescue hostages. The U.S. provided training, weapons, ammunition, and a base near Bogota. It has about 2,000 soldiers.


Police Presence in Conflict Zones (2000-2008 cost: $92 million)
This program aims to establish government presence in all Colombian municipalities. Fifteen percent of Colombian municipalities had no police presence in 2002. Today all municipalities are covered, but in many of them government presence is limited to a small number of policemen. The program organized 68 squadrons of Carabineros, of 120 policemen each. The U.S. Department of State provides training, weapons, ammunition, night-vision goggles, and other equipment.

Coastal and River Interdiction (2000-2008 cost: $89 million)
This program gave the Colombian Navy and Marines water vessels and aircraft to patrol the country's coast and rivers. The Navy received 8 interceptor boats and 2 Cessna Grand Caravan transport planes. The Marines received 95 patrol boats. The U.S. also provided both services with weapons, fuel, communications gear, night-vision goggles, and other equipment.

Air Interdiction (2000-2008 cost: $62 million)
The U.S. State and Defense departments provided the Colombian Air Force with 7 surveillance planes and their maintenance support. The program also operates five radars inside Colombia, other radars outside the country, and airborne radars. The program is also known as Air Bridge Denial.

Another $2 billion were allocated from 2000 to 2008 to other programs including the Critical Flight Safety Program to extend the life of the U.S. State Department's fleet of aircraft, additional counternarcotics funding and aviation support for battlefield medical evacuations.

Source: Wiki

I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that we are funding FARC to justify all of that armament.

So glad you've made it available to us, rabs. Filed it away for futur reference as soon as I examined it.

It really WOULD be hard, by now, to know really how many USAmericans are there, after all, considering the heavy use of "contractors," etc.

This is a very useful tool. Very glad to see this. Thank you for the information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_Colombia

the number of soldiers listed are Colombian soldiers.

he'll be getting from the U.S. taxpayers. They're the ones he has to live with, if he doesn't have them snuffed by the death squads first.

General anger spread throughout the entire country due to material inconvenience which reaches the not-so-poor Colombians could backfire on the little Prince.

Maybe there will ba a coup.

I'm surprised Venezuela has waited this long.
The puppet Right Wing oligarchs in Colombia have been trying to destabilize Venezuela since the Venezuelans threw their Right Wing oligarchs out of office.

Chavez and Correa aren't interested in a relatively powerful Colombia. Colombia already has a more diverse economy than Ven and Ven is dependent on Colombian exports because besides oil, Ven doesn't have much to trade or even satisfy its internal needs.

Colombia also has a somewhat undeveloped oil industry. Venezuela certainly does not want that competition.

A strong diverse economy, coupled with a seasoned military, and friendly relations with the US is not what Chavez wants to compete with. Chavez prefers to keep at his destabilization efforts of supporting the FARC and drug trafficking in the region.

Venezuela faces a constant thread by your country. And Colombia was and under Uribe continues to be a willing proxy.

And now with Clinton/Obama installing more US-bases in Colombia sure have to worry.
(And Colombians may have to worry too regarding immunity for the US-military personal.)

Even more in light of the US-help for the coup plotters in Honduras.

Venezuela may well be the next on the list. Or are they targeting Bolivia before?
It's perfectly clear that despite all the nice Obama-talk there won't be much change.

Well you get the picture.

So for Venezuela it's pretty reasonable not to subsidize a hostile neighbour.

Somehow I'm sure you knew that before.

what is the threat from the US? we are not buying enough oil? If the US wanted Chavez dead do you think he would still be alive??

this is a site that supports Democrats particularly President Obama. what are you doing here?

his actions are just making the US-Colombia relationship stronger.

It would be hazardous to put all of your eggs in that basket. Drugs can be procured in other places. Look at what has happened to other suppliers of the US drug habit.

The US is controlled by Wall Street and there is no honor among those thieves.

you think Colombia is the only source?? lets start with legalizing marijuana.

Why?

I don't know, but I have noticed that during and since Viet Nam everywhere the CIA goes, drugs seen to follow.

We had the same breakdown in society during prohibition. I would say that legalization is the only solution. Not just marijuana. You also have to change society. You have to permit mobility, You have to change the standard of success away from how much money you make to how well you do your job. Actually if the Christians practiced what Christ taught instead of adopting Judas's "everything is for sale" things would probably go along better.

I believe Colombia produces the most cocaine although a majority of the raw coca leaf comes from Peru and Bolivia. The drug mafias would simply move elsewhere if Colombia were "shut down" or new sources would arise from wherever.

I am sure the CIA is everywhere. You could also probably say wherever there are bicycles the drugs follow, or television, taxis, or cheese. what is your point? do you think the CIA is responsible for the drug business or the money involved?

so now we've come from a discussion of a bilateral relationship between Colombia and the US, to the nature of our society. seems you have your work cut out for you.

a monetary collapse or something catastrophic, and start building society over. Civilization has been there before. Recession and depressions are periods of realignments, for when disparities get too great. I don't know if either will be enough to bring about the necessary realignment.

Going by the 1960 US minimum wage, the minimum wage in the US should be $15 an hour now to have a comparable buying power.

to a sustainable hunter gatherer type existence.

our mistakes. Have you read 1492?

Most all of the good science fiction predicts similar scenarios.