Calling it what it is "Crude Blackmail" and a challenge to the US

No words minced here as Investor's Business Daily lays bare the Chavez - Castro scheme to control the Caribbean.

n a way, Castro is the sales pitch: Best friend Chavez ships him 90,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil a day (oil that's not Chavez's, but the state's, the opposition points out). In exchange, Chavez gets 30,000 Castro "doctors" who are little more than spies on a mission to monitor Venezuelans. All in all, an utterly insulting exchange.

Castro's visit shows the same deal is in store for other Caribbean states that must buy Venezuelan oil. Chavez is making them an offer of subsidized oil they can't refuse. The real price will be high, however. Caribbean states may be forced to take on the Cuban "doctors" who will keep an eye on them, probably as part of a package deal.

Both these "gentlemen" need to be shown the door.