Excellent post, auntie.

Chavez and his sort are in it solely for their own benefit. They've climbed to the top of the pile, and they'll use any method to stay there - because they know that if ever they fall off the top, they will most likely be killed off by the next one coming up.

They have absolutely no concern for any other citizen of their country, and in fact, they are successful firstly, because they understand that all others are their enemy; and secondly because they are not afraid to use any method necessary to keep them in line. Stalin was simply an example of how bad these people can become.

I may well be wrong, but to me, that is one reason why LC never seems to be moved along - the only value of the gold in the ground to Chavez is how much of it he can put into his pockets, while making sure that none of the people involved in digging it out, including the local and state politicos in the area, are ever a threat to his leadership of the country.