Stand and deliver.

In May, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced details of a US$18.6 million weapons deal with Russia to arm a militia of 2 million Venezuelans. U.S. President George W. Bush objects to the purchase of 100,000 assault rifles, and to Chavez's plans to buy helicopters, transport planes and war ships. Chavez says it's to protect him from Bush. He says the United States was behind the military coup that briefly ousted the former paratrooper in 2002.

While Hugo Chavez's opponents are sweating, most of Venezuela is cheering. The outspoken left-wing leader's approval rating is at 70% as he pumps billions into social programs. Emerging as the most influential leader in Latin America, Chavez plans to set aside $17 billion this year for development projects in the region. But is this chump change for the world's fifth-largest oil exporter? Nobody really knows. The government-run oil company PDVSA has only recently released its revenue total for 2003, about $47 billion. What is clear is that Venezuela sells oil for five times the price when Chavez was first elected, in December 1998.