Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is facing his toughest challenge in years as voters decide whether to approve constitutional changes in a referendum.
The raft of reforms includes allowing abolishing presidential term limits and ending the Central Bank's autonomy.
Mr Chavez says the proposed changes would return power to the people, but opponents accuse him of a power grab.
On Saturday, President Chavez repeated a threat to stop oil supplies to the US if it tried to disrupt the ballot.
Mr Chavez has warned that his opponents could try to sabotage the vote, with backing from Washington, through violent protests.
At a news conference, he said: "In the case of an aggression by the US government, we wouldn't send any more oil to that country. Forget about our oil."
Opec member Venezuela currently exports about 60% of its oil to the United States - a trade worth an estimated $37bn (£18.5bn) a year.
No comments:
Post a Comment