When an imperious bully like Fidel Castro starts to fear, his instinct is to try to sow fear among his enemies. Today, with his student and benefactor, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, dying of cancer, what the Cuban dictator fears most is that his bankrupt regime in Havana is about to lose billions in critical aid and oil.

If a narco-state or violent crackdown emerges in Venezuela, the White House will no longer be able to avert its attention from the mess or to ‘lead from behind.'

The Venezuelan opposition is waiting for a showdown in presidential elections set for Oct. 7, but a corrupt Chavista cadre has already seized the advantage and will seek to hold on to power by any means necessary.

Followers of cancer-stricken strongman Hugo Chávez are stunned after nearly 3 million Venezuelans voted Sunday to select a unity candidate to compete in presidential elections scheduled for October. If the opposition has any real hope of defeating Chavismo, they will have to be prepared for dirty tricks, provocations, and even a narco-coup in the months ahead.

Diplomats must move quietly but quickly to coordinate a regional response to Chávez’s death that will press for a genuine democratic transition, and not the succession Chavistas have in mind.

Venezuela's dictator Hugo Chávez was informed five years ago that his close ally Gen. Henry Rangel Silva – the man whom he recently named Defense Minister – is involved in cocaine smuggling.

The Venezuelan opposition must begin to prepare for a future without Hugo Chávez. The same is true for the U.S.government, which has been all but ignoring Venezuela for the last five years.

A Spanish translation of Ambassador Noreiga's "Sinister forces at work in Venezeula power struggle"