Citgo Gas Stations See Sales Drop

Citgo gas stations across the country are starting to change their branding. They're asking their supplier to stop delivering gas from oil companies owned by the Venezuelan government. As of January 1990, the National Oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela acquired 100% of Citgo. In some cases, the move away from citgo was already planned. But the plan seemed to accelerate after the comments made by Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, who referred to President Bush as "the devil" during a recent speech at the United Nations. Experts say after the speech, sales decreased between 10 and 15%. Many customers did not even know Venezuela had ties with Citgo, and they weren't too impressed to find out.Citgo customer, Cassandra Simco, said, "I had no idea that this was going on, I found out today. I had no idea Venezuela had anything to do with this". Citgo customer, Omar Ostolaza said, "The way it is we are supporting their people, helping them out, building their businesses, they come over here and talk about our president". Many Citgo customers are now boycotting Citgo after the speech made by Venezuelan President Chavez. Customers also think others should know where their gas money is going. Many Citgo stations are now speeding up plans to rebrand it's stores that have sold gas under the Citgo name.