Crisis in Libya and the Latin American Left: the reaction from Cuba and Venezuela

The crisis in Libya appears to have brought out the worst of the Latin American Left. This is apparent in the nature of the statements so far made by Libya’s arguably closest allies in the region: Cuba and Venezuela. Following the deaths of protesters by the Libyan government, it appears beyond the capacity of Latin America’s two most notable socialist leaderships to commit themselves to greater solidarity with the Libyan people. Instead Fidel Castro in Cuba and the Venezuelan government have limited their statements mainly to the role of foreign powers in the country and the Middle East more generally.