Last week, after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded long-awaited and highly competitive grants for port security projects, many in the maritime trade were baffled by the windfall for Citgo Petroleum Corp. The odds of anyone’s getting a grant were no better than one in five. Even then, most of the winners were awarded less than $1 million. But Citgo, the profitable U.S. subsidiary of the Venezuelan national oil company, hit the jackpot: a $13.5 million grant to upgrade security at its refinery in Lake Charles, La. So why did one company get so much money, and where is it going? The Homeland Security Department won’t say, citing security concerns. Neither will Citgo. The secrecy shrouding the Citgo grant points to a larger problem with the billions in taxpayer money being directed to fight the war on terrorism, according to Gary Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, a nonprofit government watchdog group in Washington that tracks budget issues. Full Story
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