Citgo suspends low-income heating oil program

BOSTON (AP) - An oil company owned by the Venezuelan government is stopping its shipments of heating oil for poor families in the United States.
   
That word comes from the non-profit organization that distributes the fuel.
   
It says Citgo, a Venezuelan subsidiary based in Texas, is citing the falling price of oil, and the world’s economic crisis.
   
Under the program, Venezuela gave fuel to 400,000 households in 23 states through a charity run by Joseph Kennedy. He’s the eldest son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.
   
It sent 100 gallons of free oil a year to eligible households.
   
But critics said it was just a ploy by Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez to undermine the Bush administration.
   
Chavez, who’s a socialist, is a staunch critic of President Bush and has called him “the devil.“