This harbor is the gateway of all the imports needed to service the Caracas metro area, the main import market of Venezuela. Well, Chavez tells us
algún día saldrán barcos de La Guaira cargados no sólo de petróleo, sino de alimentos para otros países que no tienen las tierras que nosotros tenemos. Some day ships will sail from La Güairaloaded not only with oil, but with foodstuff for other countries that do not have the [agriculture] lands that we have.
The guy has no idea on how to read an economic and physical map. La Güaira will always be a import heavy harbor, exporting at best some manufacturing, much less food items and no oil ever. Or is he planning to build a ruinous and environmentally dangerous pipeline to export oil from La Güaira instead of the natural export harbors of Puerto La Cruz and Zulia state? And as for food items, Caracas is too far from the production areas to become a food treatment center, and those, if they ever develop which is nearly impossible under the Chavez regime, are situated much closer from Puerto Cabelllo. The shipping cost to La Güaira will simply kill and competitive edge unless Chavez builds yet another ruinous railway down from Caracas to La Güaira and up from Guarico to Caracas......
It is simply unforgivable, and deeply worrisome, that a president of Venezuela makes such a statement. This goes beyond ignorance, it is plain stupidity from the part of Chavez.