In the same vein, does anyone really believe it doesn't also control Colombia's FARC terrorists?
As a reminder, in 2011, the FARC named Timoleon Jimenez, a hardliner known as Timochenko, as its new leader.
Timochenko, who received military and political training in Cuba, has always been considered among the most uncompromising FARC leaders, according to Colombian intelligence services.
Chavez's treatment and the so-called FARC peace negotiations -- both in Havana -- are more than mere coincidences.
They are about power and control by the Castros.
Some habits die hard.
From The Wall Street Journal:
Colombia's FARC Rebels Blow Up Pipeline
Colombia's largest rebel insurgency blew up an oil pipeline in the south of the country, an attack that underscored the end Sunday of a two-month unilateral cease-fire declared by the guerrilla group during peace talks with the government that could end five decades of bloody conflict.
An official with state-run oil firm Ecopetrol SA said the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by the Spanish acronym FARC, were likely behind the attack against the Transandino pipeline, which can transport 46,000 barrels a day and is located in the southern province of Putumayo.
The bombing against the pipeline, which took place Sunday evening, is an opening salvo that marks the end of two months of relatively few military actions by the FARC. The guerrilla group declared a unilateral cease-fire in November during peace negotiations with the government that are taking place in Cuba.
The government has been girding for what it says could be a wave of attacks by the guerrillas designed to strengthen their position in the negotiation table now that the cease-fire is over. Attacks against the country's shaky oil-transportation infrastructure can be especially damaging to the Colombian economy, which relies heavily on oil exports.
A surge in bombings against oil pipelines is one of the main reasons for why the country's oil production slowed in 2012 and was unable to keep up with the double-digit growth seen in previous years.
