Even if China and India need to build new plants to process Venezuela`s oil, Hugo can offset their costs by selling them oil at less than market price, still pull in a tidy profit, and maybe trade some (lots of) oil for weapons.

If Hugo has a steady stream of Chinese flag supertankers in port under a fifty-year contract, and a whack of new fighters and SAMs parked at Chavez International, he`s going to be the new Castro and his administration could well last past several US presidents. Latin and South America might see this guy as Che incarnate, fostering strong and defiant anti-US sentiment across the south, and the US might not want to bomb or invade a country full of Chinese engineers (and military advisors) at the same time as they owe China their first born in past due interest payments. Also, China could say ''You mess with Venezuela and threaten our oil imports and Taipei is going to be a smoking ruin by lunch.''

Even if the physical and monetary outcome of a deal like this was less than intended, even if it tanked completely, it would have a devastating psychological impact on US power in the region.