It is in the best interests of President Hugo Chavez and Venezuela that he should take immediate action to purge CITGO!

by Mary MacElveen

Normally, I do not like to write columns mirroring he said/she said, but in this case I will do so. I just read Drew Raines reaction to my piece in which he stated, "I’ve read Mary MacElveen’s article and fully agree with what she has said EXCEPT that in the real world Chavez can’t monitor EVERYTHING at all times."

To this I add, in this one instance, President Chavez should be monitoring this situation since tensions have arose between our two countries and it is in his best interest to do some fact finding if someone is working behind the scenes, thereby sabotaging all the good work that he has done for the people of America.

It is in the best interest of President Chavez and Venezuela that he do so immediately.

If that is the case and he wishes to keep a good working relationship with the citizens of the United States, then it is up to him (President Chavez) to see who has betrayed his trust. Those affected by this decision made by CITGO’s executives will be outraged, and again, if there is incompetence and corruption within the ranks of this company, it is up to President Chavez to correct that. That correction must mean that those responsible be fired immediately.

When Drew stated "This article and others should be printed in the open and phone calls to the Ambassador should be made." rest assured, that I will be printing it out and faxing it to the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, D.C. since I mentioned the Venezuelan Ambassador to the United States, Bernardo Alvarez. He too must be made aware of the information being disseminated out here.

It is in his best interests that he does respond to this situation.

While I have stood behind President Chavez as a columnist, I cannot ignore this situation and must state how I feel on behalf of these American workers that do not deserve this treatment coming from CITGO. What I have written of President Chavez is far tamer than what has been written of him in the mainstream press when they have called him a "leftist dictator" and other such derogatory terms.

What I have written of him is that he is a democratically-elected President who represents the people of Venezuela both at home and abroad, and since this situation has occurred abroad, he must respond. He has stated in the past that the United States will invade Venezuela, and with the move by these CITGO tyrants: Would America support such a move, if they see this as a direct threat?

When Drew mentioned "I just think someone behind the scenes is making Chavez look bad and is attempting to make him the BAD GUY because he has become extremely well liked here in the United States, especially among the Alternative news hounds."

Again, if anyone is attempting to make him out to be the "BAD GUY," President Chavez must find out who it is.
Not only will the alternative news hounds wish to know this information, those that are affected by this decision will also want to know.

Should the mainstream press see this as an opportunity to bury President Chavez, we need a response coming from the president in order to confront how they report of this situation going forward.

Mary MacElveen
mary@vheadline.com

http://www.vheadline.com/MacElveen