August 29, 2005
Venezuela offers heating oil for poor people in US

(Xinhua) - " The Venezuelan government said that it will provide assistance for at least 7 million poor people in the United States (...)

In a Sunday radio and television program, President Hugo Chávez said that there are many poor people in the United States, and every year a large number of them die of cold during the winter.

That is why 'we're going to offer fuel for heating that is 40 percent cheaper' than market prices, said Chávez, adding that the plan would benefit 7 million to 8 million poor people in the United States.

He said the price reduction would be attained through the elimination of intermediaries, with the sale being made directly through Citgo, a US branch of Venezuela's state-run petroleum company PDVSA. Citgo has eight refineries in the U.S., as well as 14,000 affiliated gasoline stations.

Chávez said the fuel would be distributed to the poor through organizations headed by veteran defender of civil rights in the United States, Jesse Jackson, actor Danny Glover and other personalities.

Jackson, who is currently visiting Venezuela, joined Chávez on television to announce his involvement with the plan".