As Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has gone straight up tyrant in his country by ordering the killing of protesters seeking an end to his rule, some of his close allies across Latin America seem to be sticking with him. In fact, Fidel Castro thinks that the protests will be used as an excuse for the United States and NATO to invade Libya with an eye towards their oil. Though others across the region seem to be quietly distancing themselves from the actions of the Libyan mad man.
In a column published in a state-run newspaper yesterday, Castro opined that America had little interest in a peaceful resolution to the violence in Libya, but only has aims on their oil.
Reports the BBC:
What is for me absolutely evident is that the government of the United States is not worried at all about peace in Libya," he writes.That's Castro for you: always taking any chance he can to criticize America, while turning a blind eye to reports of great human suffering.
Instead, Washington will not hesitate to order a Nato invasion of the oil-rich North African country, in "a matter of hours or a few days".
Mr Castro makes no direct reference to reports from Libya that clashes between security forces and protesters left hundreds dead.
"We will have to wait the necessary time to know exactly how much is truth or lies," Mr Castro writes.
Gadhafi has always had a warm relation with many leftist leaders in Latin America. Unsurprisingly they share common ground in hoping to halt the influence of America across the globe.
Castro, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Venezuela's Hugo Chaves and Bolivia's Evo Morales have all been awarded the Moammar Gadhafi International Human Rights Prize.
Ortega has offered his support of Gadhafi.
The AP reports that only Morales' Bolivia has come close to distancing itself from Gadhafi by issuing a statement, "expressing concern over 'the regrettable loss of many lives' and urging both sides to find a peaceful solution."
Hugo Chavez has so far remained publicly silent on the mater, with some reading Chavez's silence as a way to distance himself from Gadhafi.
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