> The
> occasional mildly belligerent statement by U.S. officials only acts as a
> reminder that the U.S. has been relatively unconcerned with Chavez.
Not true. The US oiligarchy hated, feared and smeared Chavez constantly. The attempted 2002 coup was an "Allende lite" strategy, which failed. They would have tried again, and might have succeeded, but all of their spooks and centurions were in Iraq.
Bolivarzilla survived its hatchling phase because the fields of al-Anbar and the streets of Baghdad ran red with blood.
-- DRR