That actually was the policy up until the mid-1970s! It all got started under Teddy Roosevelt. He instituted what he called the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine which called on the USA to exercise "police power" in Latin America.
If this was 1973, someone like Chavez would have been killed off before he could ever have assumed office.
The real thing to worry about is that Hugo has been invited to dine with the devil. Islam in South America?