i'll take it one further.....

the biggest exporter to venezuela is the US

the biggest importer from venezuela is the US

so, regardless of what hugo, bush say about eachother the fact is they trade in a big way.... i'm not certain that the nationality of a company has ANY bearing whatsoever on permits....

i believe RML gets favored status because of HOW they conduct business (i.e. give us a mining permit and we'll operate it at a loss as long as you buy 10 old submarines then we'll kick back $1bil to the hugo chavez retirement fund)...

disclaimer: i have no knowledge or proof that this is what is happening between rml/ven...it's just a thought about what people may mean when they say the decision is POLITICAL...