What's really happening in Venezuela***To that effect an invasion of Cuban "workers" replaced many Venezuelan workers (leaving Venezuelans unemployed), started mingling in internal affairs, and introduced communist indoctrination. This indoctrination extends from children in elementary school through to university.
Cuba sent additional "teachers" and "doctors" to help in the proselytizing. And China -- notorious for violations of human rights and unfriendliness to America - also sent "workers" to help Chavez's regime.
As Castro did in Cuba after 1959, the armed forces of Venezuela were reorganized by putting Chavez's cronies in charge of all important positions in the military. And as in Cuba, promotions became conditional on political beliefs. Cuban military advisers and intelligence operatives descended on Venezuela to help organize the repressive apparatus necessary to keep the new dictator in place.
The so-called "Cubanization" of Venezuela was well underway when, on June 10, 2001, Chavez, following Castro's example and guidelines, created paramilitary battalions to repress and intimidate his political adversaries. While in Cuba they are called "Rapid Response Brigades" Chavez called his "Bolivarian Circles."***
Venezuela's Chavez courts OPEC chief for the top job at PDVSA....Rodriguez became OPEC's secretary-general in January 2001. A former leftist guerrilla, he has a long record of service in Venezuelan politics but has no obvious experience in running a commercial enterprise.....Chavez has rallied for greater unity among OPEC's 11 member nations. Under his leadership, Venezuela has evolved into one of the group's most hawkish members, advocating restraint in crude output with the aim of keeping oil prices high. Chavez has exploited Venezuela's membership in OPEC to try to enhance his own image as statesman, hosting a meeting of the group's heads of state in Caracas in September 2000.