Russian leader Medvedev heading to Cuba, Venezuela - Yahoo! News
MOSCOW – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev plans to travel this month to Cuba and Venezuela, which have increasing military and trade ties with Moscow.
The U.S. has objected to Russia’s greater links with the two countries that have antagonistic relations with Washington.
The Monroe Doctrine is dead. Look for China and Russia to carve substantial areas of influence out of our southern hemisphere. And don’t look for Barack Obama to do anything to stop them. They know a spineless patsy when they see one.
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The one thing stopping your scenario is if oil prices continue to fall, or at the very least hold steady for the foreseeable future. Right now, I believe Venezuela’s state budget is based upon $80 per barrell of oil (that number could be off). With creditors banging at the door and unable to be so lenient with government goodies, the Chavez government falls and with it subsidies to Cuba.
That’s the rosy scenario anyway. Perhaps just for a change of pace.
Are you so sure it will fall, Daniel? Did the Communist government of Mugabe’s Zimbabwe fall? And you can rest assured that an Obama government won’t “meddle” in Chavez’s tyranny the way another US administration once took down Chile’s budding commie dictatorship.
I thought of that. My response would be that not all commie dictators are the same. That is, some are less evil than others. Two examples I can point to: first, unlike Cuba, Venezuelans are generally free to leave the country; second, Chavez did admit defeat when his efforts to amend the constitution to make him president for life failed.
Did he admit defeat, or did he punt until the next crisis gives him another opportunity? I strongly suspect the latter.