Nuclear Hugo

Oh, this sounds like a splendid idea:

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to help start a nuclear energy program in Venezuela and said Moscow is willing to participate in a socialist trade bloc in Latin America led by President Hugo Chavez.
Medvedev used his visit to Venezuela—the first by a Russian president—to extend Moscow's reach into Latin America and deepen trade and military ties. Chavez denied trying to provoke the United States, but he welcomed Russia's growing presence in Latin America as a reflection of declining U.S. influence.
Chavez and Medvedev planned to visit a Russian destroyer docked in a Venezuelan port on Thursday. The arrival of Russian warships this week for training exercises with Venezuela's navy was the first deployment of its kind in the Caribbean since the Cold War.

The "Camelot" comparisons for the Obama administration might be a little more accurate than we thought. "Watch, we're going to have an international crisis . . . to test the mettle of this guy. . . . I guarantee you it's gonna happen."

Obama's buddy, Hugo Chavez

The Spanish-language version was included in an earlier round-up, now Team Maverick's made it available in English:

Peace in South America?

After my post on the American Chavezistas, a friend sent me an e-mail suggesting a follow-up. And indeed, there is relevant news today:

The crisis over a Colombian military raid in Ecuador was resolved Friday in the Dominican Republic, at an annual meeting of Latin American leaders. The Colombian president, Álvaro Uribe, apologized to President Rafael Correa of Ecuador, who shook his hand and said, "With the commitment of never attacking a brother country again and by asking forgiveness, we can consider this very serious incident resolved."

The latest from Reuters:

Colombia must make sure neighboring countries are never again affected by its war against the leftist guerrilla group FARC, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said in a newspaper interview on Sunday.
Correa has said it will take time to restore diplomatic ties with Colombia even though the countries have resolved a week-long crisis over a Colombian military raid against guerrillas hiding in Ecuador.
In Latin America's worst diplomatic crisis in years, leftist-led allies Ecuador and Venezuela sent troops to their borders with Colombia, cut ties with Bogota and condemned the March 1 raid, which killed more than 20 guerrillas.

Ah, so we see that Ecuador lines up with Chavez in de facto support of the vicious FARC terrorists. The struggle caused by Chavez's expanding influence extends to Peru:

The new Latin American version of the Cold War is especially fierce here in Peru, where President Alan Garcia ... is now a staunch Washington ally and apostle of free trade. ...
Like pro-U.S. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, Garcia detests Chavez, whom he derided as a "midget dictator with a big wallet" during the hotly contested Peruvian presidential campaign in 2006. Chavez in turn labeled Garcia a liar, thief and U.S. lackey. Garcia ultimately beat back a challenge from a Chavez supporter, generating a deep sigh of relief at the White House.

So, America has the leadership of Columbia and Peru on its side against Chavez's neo-Marxism. It has been suggested that the Chavez regime has ties to U.S. foes in the Middle East.

Colombia's raid on the narco-terrorists killed two senior FARC commanders. That raid may have been just one part in a coordinated plan to bring counter-pressure against Chavez's expansionist efforts.

Peace? Not likely, so long as Chavez remains in power. It's like the '80s and the Evil Empire all over again, except this time, the Kremlin's in Caracas.

Busting the Chavezistas

Over at NewsBusters, Matthew Vadum does a number on the Friends of Hugo:

QUESTION: What do you get when you help terrorists seek dirty bombs, give sanctuary to Hezbollah and Hamas, taunt America, and threaten war on U.S. ally Colombia?
ANSWER: Hugs and kisses from members of Congress like Senator Chris Dodd and Congressman Dennis Kucinich, academics like Cornel West, and Hollywood celebrities like Danny Glover – and a pass from the press.
And what’s there not to love about Venezuela’s Marxist strongman Hugo Chavez, who crushes dissenters, muzzles the media, and takes from “the rich” to give to “the poor”? With a Kennedy clan member as his spokesman, he even gives discounted home heating oil to the shivering masses of the U.S. oppressed by the capitalist system. ¡Viva la Revolucion!

Definitely read the whole thing. As disgusting as Chavez is, his American supporters are even more disgusting.