• Houston Chronicle, Tuesday, October 17, 2006 12:15 PM

Citgo Petroleum is on the attack with a new ad campaign about the "misleading and inaccurate" criticisms of the U.S.-based arm of the Venezuelan oil company. The effort reaffirms its commitment to the U.S. market and tries to counter any backlash from a speech by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, in which he called George W. Bush "the devil."

In the first print ad, which appeared Monday, Citgo President Felix Rodriguez said critics are doing more damage to Citgo's thousands of U.S. employees and small-business owners who sell Citgo gasoline than to the company itself. "We understand that, as a corporation, we cannot always control the environment in which we operate, but we feel compelled to set the record straight out of respect for our employees, business partners and consumers," he says. National and regional newspapers will run ads later this week, and TV commercials are on the way, according to a Citgo spokesman.

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