Nikolas Krozloff - who Greg Weeks says has "written fairly favorably of Chávez in the past" - calls out Chavez for being a longtime ally of Qaddafi, a relationship made clearer by new a Wiki leak:
With revolution now sweeping away the most autocratic rulers across the African continent, Chávez now has a unique opportunity to redraw his political priorities. Will the Venezuelan leader see the error of his ways or continue to embrace phony Third World liberation in the guise of autocratic despotism?
So far the Nicaraguan leader is the only friendly leader to embrace Qaddafi; Daniel Ortega "has called several times this week because Gadhafi 'is again waging a great battle' to defend the unity of his nation." But there are reports suggesting that Zimbabwe has sent commandos. Muammar's old pal Silvio, however, is slowly backing away. And another is AWOL:
Though Castro has suggested NATO might be planning an invasion of Libya, neither he nor Chavez has gone as far as Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega and offered actual support for Gaddafi.