Paradoxically, whereas the Western powers are probably powerless in Ukraine, Latin America’s major players could exert great influence in Venezuela. Economic sanctions on Russia may eventually hurt, and the Kremlin may desist from further encroachment; but the Ukrainian crisis is largely impervious, in the short term, to outside involvement.
矛盾的是，西方强国或许在乌克兰问题上无能为力，但拉丁美洲大国可以向委内瑞拉施加很大的影响力。对俄罗斯的经济制裁或许最终会形成伤害，克里姆林宫可能停止进一步的侵略；但乌克兰危机在短期几乎不可能由外部干预。委内瑞拉的危险不下于乌克兰，而解决委内瑞拉问题比乌克兰成本低得多，也容易得多。但解决委内瑞拉问题需要大部分拉丁美洲国家非常欠缺的东西：远见和勇气。