Coming soon to Venezuela: Armed militias answerable only to Chavez
There is no ambiguity on where the militias’ loyalties lie. Not with the Venezuelan state, not with the military, but directly and personally with Chávez.
Early on with Chavez, when I thought Chavez represented something truly new and democratic, a friend who has followed South American politics for decades and who reads and speaks Spanish fluently and thus can read newspapers and websites in Spanish said wait, you’ll see, Chavez is just another dictator thug.
Any head of state who wants armed militias accountable only to him is neither democratic or for the people. The possibility such power can be abused is huge and obvious.
And no, that doesn’t mean I support the oligarchs there either. They probably have their own militias.