Does anyone have my PIN?

Hugo Chavez is about half as clever as he thought he was

President Hugo Chavez on Sunday threatened to cut off oil sales to the United States in an “economic war” if Exxon Mobil Corp. wins court judgments to seize billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets. Exxon Mobil has gone after the assets of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA in U.S., British and Dutch courts as it challenges the nationalization of a multibillion dollar oil project by Chavez’s government.

A British court has issued an injunction “freezing” as much as $12 billion in assets.

There’s nothing like nationalizing billions of dollars in hard assets and oil rights, then forgetting about your government’s Western off shore bank accounts. Someone give Chavez a map and circle the Caymans.

Venezuela needs hard currency as much as it needs air and water. The prospects of Chavez ceasing oil exports to the United States is a rhetorical joke, minus the hard hitting punchline.

The aspiring Venezuelan dictator has been operating a political Ponzi scheme since his first election. He promises more and more to maintain power, then needs to take more and more to meet the promises, always trying to stay one step ahead. He is finding out the hard way that the portion of the public demanding government handouts can never be satiated, no matter what the country or what the ultimate cost.