September 22, 2005
Shannon: 'We would like to have a good relation with Venezuela'

(El Nacional) - "Thomas Shannon, the candidate postulated by George Bush to be the next Under Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere, said he is willing to work in the improvement of relations between the US and Venezuela (...)

Shannon's kind tone contrasted with that of his predecessor Roger Noriega, who was well known for his strong comments about Venezuela.

When Senator Nelson asked Shannon 'is President Chávez's threat to cut oil supply to the US insignificant?' he replied: 'The truth is, Venezuela does not sell oil to the United States, it sells it to itself'.

He explained that through Citgo corporation, Venezuela 'sends oil to refineries in North American soil that belong to them and distributes it to gas stations that are equally property of Venezuela' (...)

He explained, however, that 'the Venezuelan government is worried, in the long run, about the dependence on the North American government, because it limits its flexibility'.

'We believe that President Chávez long term vision is to find alternate markets. which he would like to explore to reduce the dependence on the United States' (...)