As I increasingly phase my car out (vis-à-vis trains, buses, walking, and bicycling), I try to be careful about where I buy my gas. The Venezuela-owned Citgo stations have been my preference. (This story explains why: http://santacruz.indymedia.org/newswire/display/17823/index.php)

On Sunday, October 22, I was traveling through Glendale/Burbank, an area that is mentioned on Citgo’s store locator site (see: http://www.citgo.com/CITGOLocator/StoreLocator.jsp). I was cautious because I knew that Citgo stations in Southern California are often affiliated with 7-11, which recently terminated the affiliation due to Hugo Chavez’s “controversial” remarks about George Bush, Jr. at the UN (see: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060928/7_eleven_citgo.html?.v=2).

Thus, I talked to the person in the 7-11 store before I started filling my gas. This employee knew of the contract termination but believed Citgo still operated this particular station. And the Citgo logo still covered the gas pumps. So I filled my tank for the first time in at least four weeks.

I was somewhat concerned, though, because my receipt made no mention of Citgo. It thanked me for choosing 7-11.

The station I went to is at 2055 W. Glenoaks at Alameda and is a few miles north of the 5 Freeway (Alameda off-ramp).

Although Citgos are inevitably going to disappear from 7-11s fairly soon, I'm told there are many Citgos that aren't connected to 7-11s, including ones in Las Vegas.

Also, Citgo sells motor oil in competition with brands like Pennzoil. I’ve purchased a few quarts at a Rite Aid in Pasadena.

The Citgo break-up from 7-11 was announced by 7-11 following (two days after) the infamous UN speech by Chavez where he referred to GW Bush as the "devil", complete with fumes of sulfur. Indeed Chavez was referring to the diabolical web of deceit the GW bush/Cheney regime has used to manipulate the us public into supporting their illegal 'Halliburton oil heist' invasion/occupation of Iraq, sacrificing the lives of over 3,000 US soldiers & countless Iraqi civilians (long term ecocide via depleted uranium) in the process. In that case, GW bush/Cheney is about as close to the real-life personification of any symbolic devil we know..

Following these remarks by Chavez, many were induced by media to believe that some high profile neo-cons may likely have engaged in some arm twisting of 7-11 execs to encourage them purchasing their petroleum products from a US providers (ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, Arco/BP/Shell?) instead of the socialist 'dennis the menace' Hugo Chavez who frequently uses his 'bully' pulpit to insult poor l'il 'ol Georgie W Bush, the man who claims to have imported democracy to the people of Iraq. We are led to believe that 7-11 execs finally saw the wisdom of the anti-Chavez Bush regime neo-cons after Chavez's UN speech and that 7-11 chose to cease doing business with Venezuala..

However, the CEO of Citgo claims that it was Citgo who initiated the break-up with 7-11 long before the 'devil' speech, since Citgo's contract with the 7-11 corporation left Venezuala with a economic bad deal;

"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."

read on @;
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=2092

Whether or not 7-11 leaves the Citgo signs up while they switch petrol providers is unknown. How long 7-11 will sell, or has already ceased selling Citgo gas is also unknown by author. Encourage bicycle culture, public transit and continuous boicott of any and all US petroleum corporations (ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, BP/ARCO/Shell, ConocoPhillips, etc..) whenever possible..