港澳天下彩

COMMENTARY A generation ago, U.S. cold warrior Henry Kissinger coddled Latin America's right-wing monsters. Today the region's tyrants are left-wing 鈥� and so are their Kissinger-esque enablers.

An old political cartoon by Manuel Guill茅n of the independent Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa has resurfaced on social media in recent days 鈥� and it helps explain why democracy has died, and could stay dead for many years to come, in Venezuela.

Guill茅n鈥檚 2017 caricature shows Venezuelan dictator Nicol谩s Maduro clubbing a woman representing democracy to a bloody pulp, the way his security forces were savaging pro-democracy demonstrators that year 鈥� barbarity a U.N. report designated as crimes against humanity. Standing next to Maduro is his compinche, or comrade, Nicaraguan dictator and fellow leftist Daniel Ortega.

鈥淕et back and don鈥檛 get involved!鈥� Ortega shouts at horrified onlookers. 鈥淭his is a matter of Venezuela鈥檚 national sovereignty and self-determination!鈥�

It's a brilliant if brutal satire of the non-interventionist credo that Latin America鈥檚 leftists all too often unpack as a cowardly code of silence, an omert脿 that seals their lips whenever ideological blood brothers commit heinous crimes.

Like Maduro鈥檚 epic theft of Venezuela鈥檚 July 28 presidential election and his regime鈥檚 fierce clubbing of pro-democracy demonstrators in the aftermath.

Meme-savvy folks are now replacing Ortega鈥檚 face in Guill茅n鈥檚 cartoon with those of the Latin American leftist leaders who could but won鈥檛 exert real pressure on Maduro to step down. There鈥檚 the mug of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, of course. But another presidential puss drawn into the frame 鈥� and the one most deserving of that shame at the moment 鈥� is Mexico鈥檚 Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador.

Since Venezuela鈥檚 election, almost 2,500 opposition supporters have been arbitrarily arrested and 27 have been killed in Maduro鈥檚 crackdown on dissent. Nevertheless, this week L贸pez Obrador, known as AMLO, said Mexico is for now dropping out of talks with Colombia and Brazil 鈥� whose president, Luiz In谩cio Lula da Silva, is another fellow leftist 鈥� on solving the crisis.

READ MORE: Dear lefty-loosey, righty-tighty zealots: spare us your Venezuela 'bulla'

And the really jaw-dropping part of AMLO鈥檚 gutless abdication? He鈥檚 decided we should all let Venezuela鈥檚 Supreme Court 鈥� a lapdog chamber that performs every service for Maduro except brushing his mustache 鈥� decide the election fraud dispute, as Maduro has asked the 鈥渏ustices鈥� to do.

AMLO no doubt also thinks a panel of vampires would impartially judge Dracula. Or other caped and bloodthirsty monsters like the late Chilean military dictator, Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

That鈥檚 why Guill茅n鈥檚 cartoon is such an instructive window into Venezuela鈥檚 nightmare. Petro, Lula and AMLO are hardly the western hemisphere鈥檚 first tyrant-enablers. Before them, a generation ago, the tyrants being enabled were more likely right-wing than left-wing 鈥� and were most notoriously enabled by an American named Henry Kissinger.

As Secretary of State to then President Richard Nixon in the 1970s, Kissinger of Pinochet, Argentina鈥檚 鈥淒irty War鈥� junta, Paraguay鈥檚 Alfredo Stroessner and a host of other reactionary despots across South America. As long as they were considered bulwarks against communism 鈥� as long as they fit into Kissinger鈥檚 conservative cold-war ethos as snugly as Maduro wears Petro鈥檚 and Lula鈥檚 and AMLO鈥檚 lefty dogma 鈥� they were awarded his own silence.

Nauseating irony

And, for them, the silence was golden. Pinochet鈥檚 reign of terror, for example, lasted 17 years, thanks in no small part to yanqui omert脿. Even after Kissinger left power, his playbook remained open well into the 1980s with the Reagan Administration鈥檚 cosseting of homicidal right-wing regimes like El Salvador鈥檚 and Guatemala鈥檚.

The nauseating irony is that back then, Latin American leftism was at least known for a certain courage, if only because it stood up to that retro arrangement 鈥� and paid for it with countless people tortured, disappeared and killed.

But today, courage has morphed into Kissinger.

In the 21st century, leftism itself is the regressive set-up. Petro, Lula and AMLO, who govern the region鈥檚 three largest countries, are the ones aiding and abetting Latin America鈥檚 aptly branded troika of tyranny 鈥� Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela 鈥� along with its Darth Vader patrons Russia and China.

And, at least in Mexico鈥檚 case, the scenario isn鈥檛 likely to change any time soon. AMLO鈥檚 prot茅g茅, President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, this week dismissively said the Venezuelan tragedy 鈥渉as nothing to do with me鈥� 鈥� and invited Maduro to her October 1 inauguration.

Not surprisingly, Sheinbaum鈥檚 face shortly after showed up in Guill茅n鈥檚 cartoon on social media 鈥� ordering us all to get back and not get involved.

Henry Kissinger would have been proud.