Hugo Chávez Is Tied to Giuliani Firm

Rudolph W. Giuliani’s law firm has lobbied for years on behalf of an oil company controlled by the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, a strident critic of President Bush and American-style capitalism.

Bracewell & Giuliani, the firm based in Houston that Mr. Giuliani joined as a name partner two years ago, handles lobbying in the Texas capital for the Citgo Petroleum Corporation of Houston. Citgo is the American subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, the state-owned oil company that Mr. Chávez controls.

Mr. Giuliani’s duties at his law firm do not include lobbying. But the financial relationship with a company affiliated with one of the most outspoken critics of the United States potentially exposes Mr. Giuliani to new scrutiny as he campaigns to become the Republican nominee for president in 2008.

Mr. Chávez has used his country’s oil wealth to lure fellow Latin American leaders away from alliances with the United States. In recent years, he has called Mr. Bush a “donkey,” a “drunkard” and a “coward,” blamed him for a failed 2002 coup attempt in Venezuela and allied himself with Fidel Castro.

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