Chavez wins in Venezuela

This past week, Hugo Chavez won a third term as President of Venezuela. Chavez is most recognized for his remarks earlier this fall commenting that: “Bush is the Devil.”

Chavez has consistently resisted relations with the United States and report from CNN noted that: “The former paratrooper called his victory a blow to U.S. President George W. Bush, whose government he calls dangerously imperialistic.”

As one of the world’s top oil exporters, the economy of Venezuela has drastically grown as the price for oil has risen. This is important to the political relations between the US and Venezuela, and particularly influential in the economy of the US and the need for oil.

BBC also noted in an article addressing the possibility of upcoming changes that: "The ultimate goal is to become completely economically independent from the US because Mr Chavez does not want to be a leader who is at the beck and call of the political and economic establishment of North America."

Venezuela, especially under the leadership of Chavez, proves to be another nation on the radar for the United States. According to CNN , “He has increasingly posed a challenge to the United States while leading a growing bloc of Latin American leftists, influencing elections across the region, and allying himself with U.S. enemies like Iran and Syria.”