Well, what do you know? 7-Eleven trying to score brownie points with the Bush cultists? 7-Eleven made a big PR deal out of being "offended" at what Chavez said about Bush in the UN. 7-Eleven is as loose with the truth as the White House, for it was Citgo which decided to drop 1,800 independent gas stations back on July 12 of this year.
Venezuela's Citgo Says it Decided to Discontinue 7/11 Contract Two Months Ago
By Venezuelanlysis.com
9-30-6, 10:17 am
Caracas, Venezuela, September 28, 2006 --Felix Rodriguez, the CEO of Citgo, the Venezuelan-owned gasoline producer and distributor in the U.S., clarified yesterday that it was Citgo that had let expire its contract with the 7-Eleven convenience store chain and not the other way around, as was broadly reported.
According to most press accounts, 7-Eleven spokespersons implied that the discontinuation of the supply contract for its gas stations was at least partially motivated by Chavez's UN speech, in which he referred to President Bush as the "Devil."
"(The reports are) a manipulation because ever since the month of July have we announced that we did not intend to renew a contract with (7-Eleven), which was 20-years old and that was part of a bad business deal for Venezuela," said Rodriguez in a telephone interview with the Venezuelan state TV channel VTV.
Rodriguez went on to explain that the contract forced Citgo to purchase non-Venezuelan crude that it would refine and sell to 7-Eleven at a very low price. "We were losing money," added Rodriguez.
Headlines in a wide variety of U.S. news outlets reported yesterday and today that the decision to cancel the Citgo contract was made by 7-Eleven.
For example, the Los Angeles Times announced, "7-Eleven Dumps Venezuela-Backed Citgo to Pump Own Brand." Others, such as Associated Press, had a headline that read, "7-Eleven Drops Citgo As Gas Supplier"
http://www.politicalaffairs.net/...