Venezuela has already spent over $4 billion on Russian weaponry. This includes dozens of helicopters, 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles and 24 Sukhoi-30 fighter-bombers—among the world’s most sophisticated combat aircraft. On his latest arms-buying trip to Moscow, in July, Mr Chávez said Venezuela would “raise flags, bang drums and sing songs” for the Russian fleet.

Sounds like he is compensating for a small weener