Chávez in search of friends

As he embarks on his latest world tour, Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s president, will be hoping to shore up his international standing after losing face during his recent quarrel with Colombia.

Most attention will be on his visit to Russia. Venezuela has spent $3.4bn on Russian military hardware since 2005. Now Russian media say deals will be announced during Mr Chávez’s visit worth a further $2bn, possibly including submarines.

The two countries are also expected to create a joint development bank after Mr Chávez inaugurated a similar organization with Iran in May with an initial capital base of $1.2bn.

Closer ties can also be expected in the mining and energy sectors, after Venezuela declared Rusoro, a Russian mining company, to be a “partner of choice” earlier this month. Meanwhile other miners, notably Hecla of the US, have preferred to leave Venezuela.

Having recently made up with Colombia, Mr Chávez will even stop off in Spain this week to pay his respects to the King Juan Carlos. (The last time they met, the king told Mr Chávez to “shut up”.)

Mr Chávez has already been trying to strengthen his position in Latin America, paying visits last week to allies in Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua, as well as deepening his commitment to providing cheap oil financing to countries in Central America and the Caribbean.

Mr Chávez is probably right to think that relations with the US will not improve, no matter who wins the forthcoming US presidential election. So his search for new friends elsewhere makes sense.

Benedict Mander