Chavez: Portrait of a Dictator in the Americas

Venezuela's leader, Hugo Chavez, officially has a new name:  dictator.  The Venezuelan National Assembly has unanimously granted approval to give the Venezuelan leader the power to rule by decree for eighteen months.  These decrees would be enacted as laws directly, bypassing the Venezuelan congress.

Chavez has many stated goals while this power is enacted including:

• Eliminating term limits for the president in Venezuela (which is Chavez)
• Accelerating the process of converting to socialism
• Nationalizing certain economic sectors such as:
• Telecom
• Power
• Oil

The Venezuelan National Assembly has been comprised only of Chavez supporters since opposition boycotted elections in 2005 and now have no representation in the Assembly.

This move follows Chavez's announced plans to shutdown the largest opposition media outlet, Radio Caracas Television.

In addition to shutting down opposition, gaining reelection in a landslide, and control of state-run media, Chavez has been busy on the military front in the last few years as well.

Chavez purchased 100,000 AK-47 rifles, Mig 29 fighters, and attack helicopters from Russia back in 2005.  The US expects shipments of AK-47 rifles to reach 300,000.

In addition to this, Chavez has amassed a "2 million-man" civilian defense force to stave off attacks that he claims will inevitably come from the United States.

From this BBC article:

"Over recent months, the populist president has warned that the US may invade Venezuela or try to assassinate him. He has called for Venezuelans to join a new civil reserve defense force, which, it is claimed, numbers two million members."

"During a recent commemoration of a revolutionary war battle, Mr Chavez called for preparation for an "asymmetric war" against the world's most powerful nation."

"If somebody meddles with Venezuela, they'll repent for 100 centuries," the President declared. "If we have to fight a war to defend this country, we'll make the blood flow."

If these developments weren't enough, Chavez, who already carries a strong relationship with Cuba's Fidel Castro, has become quite close with Iran's leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Chavez has also come out in defense of Iran's nuclear program stating,

"Iran has every right, like many other countries have done, to develop its atomic energy and continue its research in this field"

Chavez has also warned against U.S. military action in Iran.

This closeness between Chavez and Iran is particularly troubling given the militaristic stance of Chavez's presidency, his harsh rhetoric aimed at the U.S. and its leaders, and the state-fueled propaganda in Venezuela.  Should Iran actually develop nuclear weapons, the interaction between Venezuela and Iran would have to be closely monitored to ensure that technology didn't also appear in South America.