The Deepening Latin American Problem

With much of the focus of the Administration geared towards solving the world’s Iranian, Syrian and North Korean problems, we have a deepening problem in our own backyard. As Robert Novak points out, Chavez is using his power to install new friendly regimes in neighboring countries.

The installation of Gen. Omar Halleslevens, a hard-line Sandinista, as chief of the Nicaraguan army, shows how strongly the Sandinistas are in control of the country. It now appears that the Sandinistas are using strong-armed parliamentary tactics to return former president Daniel Ortega to power. According to Novak,

Ortega is collaborating with the disgraced President Arnoldo Aleman, the Liberal Party stalwart convicted of massive corruption who is under house arrest and is virtually a free man. They have combined to thwart the efforts of the Bolanos government to destroy the Soviet surface-to-air missiles Nicaragua collected during Sandinista rule.

The Sandinistas, the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary party repeatedly rejected by Nicaraguan voters, are on the verge of accomplishing what U.S. officials call a "golpe technico" (technical coup), stripping President Enrique Bolanos of power. It is no isolated event restricted to a small Central American country. The Sandinistas have a rich and powerful ally in Hugo Chavez, the Marxist president of Venezuela.

While Nicaragua seems to be going down a troubling path to the U.S., the risks are also rising to the shaky reigns of President Gutierrez of Ecuador and President Toledo of Peru. Bush’s domino theory towards spreading democracy in the Middle East seems to be showing real signs of taking effect. However, I also fear that with Chavez’s anti-democratic meddling in an attempt to spread “Bolivarian Revolutions” in Latin America, the domino theory might also work in reverse. I hope that the recent actions in Nicaragua shed a spotlight on the need for action in Latin America in the very near future.