Connie Mack: “Around the world, freedom is under attack every day; and many in this body have heard me express my strong concerns to…”

“Around the world, freedom is under attack every day; and many in this body have heard me express my strong concerns to one of freedom's greatest enemies, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. I have spoken at length about the Chavez government's systematic elimination of freedom and liberty; and his recent assaults on private property, particularly the energy markets, in Venezuela serve as another reminder that Hugo Chavez is doing all he can to force his countrymen to live in a socialist state similar to his mentor Fidel Castro's Cuba. In recent years, Hugo Chavez has become a prime example of how crude prices have sparked a resurgence of petro-nationalism around the world. He has squeezed more money out of American companies by raising taxes and royalties, imposing fines, strengthened the hand of OPEC countries by pushing for higher prices, and threatening to cut off the flow of oil to the United States. As Chavez continues to march towards socialism, he seems determined to wipe out free enterprise, drive out private investment and wreck the economy in order to establish iron-fisted control of Venezuela's economy, just as Fidel Castro in Cuba. Venezuela and Hugo Chavez are flush with record-high oil revenues, but Chavez is threatening to kill the oil-drenched golden goose. Just last month, the Venezuelan oil minister showed up at two oil fields run by European companies in order to reclaim them on behalf of the Venezuelan government and Hugo Chavez.…”