Will Proof of Terrorist Ties Hurt Hugo Chavez?

Colombia’s capture of laptop computers owned by the narco-guerilla Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has revealed extensive support for the group by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Rafael Correa in Ecuador—including weapons training and $300 million in aid. As a result of the discovery, authorities have seized FARC bank accounts in Costa Rica and non-enriched uranium supplies near Bogota. The bust bodes poorly for FARC, but whether it will harm Chavez’s and Correa’s relationships with other Latin American governments isn’t clear, according to Independent Institute Senior Fellow Alvaro Vargas Llosa. “Some [neighbors], like the Caribbean countries, are interested in continuing to receive cheap oil from Venezuela,” writes Vargas Llosa in a recent column. “Others, including some Central American governments, think that... [read full story]