Are there Latin American countries friendly to us who will help us counter the influence of Chavez?
The Salvadoran government has been an ally for us. The Colombian government has been an ally for us. But most leaders in these countries don’t want to be seen as too pro-American. It’s not because they are hedging their bets or anything else, but these countries want to feel like they are sovereign. If they look too much like they are throwing their whole lot in with the U.S., it makes it difficult for the leader. The problem with a lot of these countries is that they are not strong enough to stand up to Chavez on their own. If the U.S. wants, for example, Colombia to stand up to Venezuela but Colombia can’t rely on the U.S. to send in the Marines or anything like that, then Colombia has to think for itself about the best way to deal with Venezuela. It can’t go too far out on that limb, because it knows that in the end it’s going to have to deal with the problems. I think a lot of countries — and I’ve been told this privately — are afraid of Hugo Chavez and that’s why you don’t neces
