Problem with that program into the US was that it was never big enough to really do anything. It certainly helped a few people, but frankly the fracking boom has done more to bring down winter heating costs than anything else, especially as more and more homes use natural gas for heating. The heating oil program was a distraction, designed to the the same kind of stick in the eye to the US as was Marc's comment about Sean Penn to DBIS regulars.

As for Venezuelans, those types of programs were extremely unpopular. I cannot tell you how many have expressed to me (during my visits there) how much they hate subsidizing Cuba, Honduras, and even the United States while they simultaneously saw their currency lose many times its original value and had to suffer the indignity of $3000 credit card/exchange limits when traveling internationally. Many saw those programs for what they were: transparent attempts to buy regional influence and deflect criticism for real and significant human rights abuses at home. We're talking about abuses that make the Patriot Act look like child's play.