Hugo Chavez

Chavez cut off diplomatic relations with Colombia last week over claims by outgoing President Alvaro Uribe that Venezuela harbors Colombian rebels. Chavez says the U.S. is behind the allegations.

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, a master at dominating the news with his controversial views, is a new adopter to Twitter, but has caught on fast. He's bypassing the press to go directly to the people -- at least his 271,000 followers.

Oil has moved up the past two trading days, to a large extent because of a rebel attack on part of the Shell pipeline system in Nigeria. Bloomberg reports "the strike targeted two well clusters in the western Niger River delta." Such incidents are fairly frequent now. The CIA World Factbook lists...

What does Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez want this time? And why has Coca-Cola become his favorite whipping boy? For the third time in three years, the Venezuelan government has unloaded on the company, this time banning Coke Zero due to unspecified "dangers to health." The soft drink, produced...

The AP makes a good case that, because oil rich nations need capital due to the low price of crude, large oil companies may have leverage to get contracts that give them better deals for drilling and refining. The news agency writes, "Experts say Western oil corporations, who stockpiled cash when...

Last week, facing pressure from falling petroleum prices, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez suspended the Citgo-Venezuela Heating Oil Program. Now entering its fourth year, the program provides low-cost heating oil to over 200,000 impoverished households in 23 states. Not coincidentally, it also...