Venezuela has placed advertisements in U.S. newspapers highlighting its offer of low-cost fuel to America's poor. 

Full-page ads in the New York Times and the Washington Post say that Venezuela's state-owned oil company is giving the discounted fuel because the United States always helps others in times of disaster.  

Noting the high cost of fuel, Venezuela says it wants to reciprocate with a humanitarian gesture.  The ad copy says the program "isn't about politics."

The low-cost oil comes as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is at odds with the White House over Iraq, Cuba and regional trade policies. 

The low-cost fuel program, aimed at low-income families, hospitals and schools in Massachusetts, is expected to expand to New York state and other cold-weather areas.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.