Chavez denies oil deal a giveaway
published: Thursday | February 2, 2006

CHAVEZ

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (AP):

A candidate challenging Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez for the presidency said his top campaign issue will be what he calls a massive waste of billions of dollars (euros) through generous oil deals for friendly countries.

Chavez, leading strongly in the polls, denied the accusations by candidate Julio Borges on Tuesday night, calling his challenger a 'frijolito' - or 'small fry' - and expressing confidence in an easy re-election victory in December.

Borges said earlier Tuesday that his party, Justice First, calculates Chavez's many international deals, and humanitarian donations add up to more than US$16 billion (euro13.2 billion). The figures refer to total amounts committed to projects, regardless of what Venezuela receives in return.