Hugo Chavez and North Korea

In addition to having strong ties to Cuba and Iran, Hugo Chavez has also nourished diplomatic, economic, and ideological ties to North Korea.

North Korea, a dictatorship run by Kim Jong Il, has garnished plenty of media coverage in recent years due to its successful nuclear program and test firings of medium and long range missiles.  North Korea's communist economy (or centrally planned economy) has long rumored to harbor extremely desperate conditions upon its population.  Due to the secretive nature of the North Korean government exact economic information is not available.  The satellite photo of the Korean peninsula at the Wikipedia page for the North Korean economy is quite telling however.

Despite the apparent troubled state of the North Korean economy, Chavez and some of those in his inner circle seem to admire the North Korean model.  In a document co-authored by education minister Hector Navarro, former industry and commerce minister Jesue Montilla, and former central planning minister Jorge Giordini,  the authors state:

"Socialism survives [...] in North Korea which, although isolated and alone, has achieved a strong economy."

SOURCE: "Ciencia y Tecnología para Venezuela: Una propuesta alternativa", (Science and Technology for Venezuela, an alternative suggestion), Editora Apucv, Caracas, 1994, pp. 7 and 26, authored by Jorge Giordani, Juan de Jesús Montilla, Víctor Morles, Hector Navarro.

Navarro has gone on to talk of "Chavez’s “Bolivarian principles” which are in solidarity with “Algeria, Cuba, Iran and North Korea.”  He has also referred to North Korea as a "model" to follow in Venezuela.

Chavez himself proclaimed on October 12, 1999:

“I have been very Maoist all my life.”

This is a reference to Mao Zedong, Marxist leader that led to China's Communist revolution.  A certain parallel in ideology to the communist run North Korea.

Indeed, a BBC article states that "Mr Chavez wants to turn Venezuela from a capitalist into a socialist society.  The plan to socialize the nation is spelled out in, "The Simon Bolivar National Plan."

After his recent inauguration for his second term in office, Chavez "announced he would nationalise key businesses, declared himself a Trotskyist and cited the ideas of Marx and Lenin."

Venezuela and North Korea are expected to setup embassy's in each other's countries and are expected to craft an "oil for arms deal" in the near future.

Former Chavez loyalist, Brigadier General Nestor Gonzalez Gonzalez, has said:

" - It is too early to determine with certainty what the nuclear weapons plans of Hugo Chavez are - But Monday's re-affirmation of support for North Korea is a troubling sign," warns Gonzalez. "I personally know Chavez very well, and he is capable of anything."

Venezuela's ties to nations such as Iran and North Korea are certainly troubling.  So is the thought of a communist, nuclear power in South America.