Boycott Petro Express because it's owned by Hugo Chavez-Fiction!

Don't buy Gas from Petro Express Because It Belongs to Controversial Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez-Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor:
A forwarded email that warns not to buy gas from Petro Express because it's just another name for Citgo, the oil company owned by Hugo Chavez, the controversial anti-American president of Venezuela.

The Truth:
It is not true that Petro Express is owned by Hugo Chavez or Venezuela. Petro Express was an American-owned company that had been headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company was purchased in 2007 by Pantry Inc., the Kangaroo convenience store chain with headquarters in Sanford, North Carolina.

Prior to the Pantry Inc. acquisition Petro Express stores sold Citgo gasoline but according to an allbusiness.com report published October 18, 2006, the company decided to phase it out from its 45 locations in favor for their own name brand.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez drew the ire of Americans for his open opposition to the United States. His most dramatic display was during a fiery speech before the United Nations in September of 2006 in which he called president Bush "the devil" and suggested that the United Nations should move elsewhere, perhaps Jerusalem.

Because of Chavez's hatred of the United States, many American motorists have called for a boycott of Citgo, was founded as an American company but is now owned by Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of Venezuela. Chavez died on March 5, 2013 at the age 58 after a bout with cancer that lasted close to two years.

This eRumor first went viral thanks to the efforts of Don Wildmon and the American Family Association (AFA) who launched an email campaign urging consumers to boycott Petro Express. We attempted to contact AFA to inform them of the false allegations. Our emails and calls were unanswered and they never released a retraction nor offered any apology to the employees of Petro Express.

Every once in a while this old rumor rises from the ashes and circulates on the World Wide Web in a frenzy but, sadly, the damage is already done.

There is a Petro Express Company in Baltimore, MD but a company spokesperson told TruthOrFiction.Com that they were never affiliated with the Petro Express of North Carolina. This company is also American owned and has been in business since 1989.

Updated 03-05-13

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:t:

I had to forward this, because Chavez is starting to feel the

loss of revenue from his holdings. He OWNS CITGO

This is a very important move that everyone should be aware.

ANNOUNCED JUST RECENTLY, CITGO, BEING AWARE THAT

SALES ARE DOWN DUE TO U.S.

(CUSTOMERS NOT WANTING TO BUY FROM "CHAVEZ"),

HAVE STARTED TO CHANGE

THE NAME OF SOME OF THEIR STORES, TO: "PETRO EXPRESS"

DO NOT BUY FROM "PETRO EXPRESS"

"PETRO EXPRESS" IS ALSO 100% OWNED BY "CHAVEZ"

KEEP THIS MEMO GOING SO EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT IS

HAPPENING.

Hugo Chavez insulted our president.

Hugo Chavez insulted our country.

Hugo Chavez insulted our military.

Hugo Chavez insulted our history.

He said we are a curse on the planet and that we endanger the very survival of humankind. He said that the countries of the world must unite against us.

He hates the United States and everything about us.

Except our money, of course. Our money makes him rich. And it gives him the power to spread anti-American hatred around the globe. His entire regime is built on American money.

So I think we should stop giving it to him.

I think it has become the patriotic duty of all Americans to avoid sending another dime into Hugo Chavez s particular Third World hellhole. He has called us his enemy. That makes him our enemy.

And we don t do business with our enemies.

We boycott them.

Remember this word: Citgo. That s the brand of gasoline you will never buy again. That s the brand of gasoline you will talk your friends into never buying again.

Because Citgo equals Chavez and Chavez equals hatred of America. And it s time for real Americans to stop buying Citgo.

Here s the background.

Hugo Chavez is the dictator of Venezuela. Venezuela would be just another crap-in-a-hole banana farm if it weren t for oil. Oil that is brought to the American market by the Venezuelan government through its subsidiary, Citgo gasoline.

The predecessor to Citgo was started in America by an American in 1910. It took the name Citgo in 1965, and was bought by Occidental Petroleum in 1982. Occidental was a company most noted for its ties to the Soviet Union and Al Gore s dad. Occidental turned around the next year and sold Citgo to the company that owns the 7-11 convenience stores.

So far, so good.

But it turned dirty in 1986 when the convenience store company sold half of Citgo to something called Petroleos de Venezuela. In 1990, Petroleos de Venezuela bought the other half and owned Citgo lock, stock and barrel.

What is Petroleos de Venezuela? It is the Venezuelan government. It is not a private company, it is a nationalized industry, much like the industries of Cuba, the Soviet Union and other communist countries.

So Citgo is Petroleos de Venezuela, and Petroleos de Venezuela is Venezuela, and Venezuela is Hugo Chavez, and Hugo Chavez is our enemy.

Therefore Citgo is our enemy.

And every dollar you spend on Citgo gasoline is a dollar that cuts America s throat. I m not saying that, Hugo Chavez is saying that. At the United Nations and at the conference of unaligned nations, Hugo Chavez said Venezuela would support and lead those nations that wanted to rise up against the United States.

That means he s going to bankroll the people who hate you and your country.

Or rather, that means he s going to use your gas money to bankroll the people who hate you and your country.

If you keep buying Citgo gasoline.

So let s draw the line. Let the Citgo boycott begin now. And let it end when Hugo Chavez is rotting in hell.

Anything less is first cousin to treason.

Some will complain that Americans distribute Citgo gasoline and will be hurt by a boycott. Others will say that Americans own and are employed by the convenience stores and gas stations that sell Citgo gasoline and that they also will be hurt by a boycott.

Tough luck.

I know many fine people who make their living from Citgo gasoline, and I will be sorry if this boycott hurts them. But I owe my country first, and must be loyal to it before I am loyal to my friends. There are other brands of gasoline, and I will gladly go back to familiar convenience stores and gas stations when they begin carrying a brand of gasoline that doesn t enrich a regime that threatens the safety and freedom of my children.

This isn t a Republican issue or a Democratic issue, this is an American issue. Hugo Chavez has gotten up and told us what he thinks of us. He has told us by his words and deeds that he hates us and that he wants to tear us down.

He is our enemy. And I will not give aid and comfort to the enemy.

I will not buy Citgo gasoline.

And you must not either.

Together we must tell as many people as we can. We must use the power of free speech and the power of the free market to kick this little tyrant where it counts.

We must change our habits if we are accustomed to buying Citgo gasoline. We must find new service stations and convenience stores. We must change our ways.

Or this man is going to bury us with our own money. He is going to use the wealth we give him to buy the knife that slits our throats and destroys our country.

Be an American, boycott Citgo.