U.S. policy towards Hugo Chávez’s increasingly ugly antics in Venezuela has been one of failed reverse psychology – that the less attention is paid to him, the less reason he would have for misbehavior.  This consideration of Chávez as an annoyance rather than a threat was illustrated very clearly last year when Miraflores invited Russian nuclear frigates to participate in war games right there in the Caribbean, but really much more attention and energy was devoted to the photo shoot and press conference, so that the Venezuelan leader could wax poetic about Russian bases and missiles (and distract attention from the fisticuffs).