Worries in Latin America

This morning, I finished reading the April 11 issue of the National Review. The whole issue was excellent, but I was especially struck by the Cover Article about Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. I'd been vaguely aware that Chavez was up to no good, but didn't really think about it until I read this article. The article discusses the fact that Latin America, after some good years in the 1990s, looks as if it's going to fall back into the horrible Stalinist/Trotsky-ite type of Communism that characterized the bloody 1970s and 1980s. It also turns out that Chavez is financing this devolution with oil -- oil that provides 1/3 of America's fuel needs. (Makes me glad all over again that Congress finally authorized drilling in ANWR.) It also turns out that Chavez is pumping money into Castro's pockets, which is not a nice thought -- especially since China and Iran are doing the same. Coming on the heels of this eye-opening article, I received this morning an email from a friend linking me to an interview with Author Humberto Fontova about Castro. Fontova thinks that Castro has WMD, and also comments on the massive funding Castro is suddenly receiving -- funding that more than offsets the financial damage the American boycott was inflicting. It's an interesting interview, and I wish those of my lib friends who champion Cuba would take the time to read it. They might realize that their valid sympathies for the beleaguered Cuban people would find a quicker reward if they didn't pump money into Castro's pockets. Based on these two Saturday morning reads, I'm clearly going to have to give the situation in Latin America more attention.