Caracas Chronicles

Roy Chaderton, Venezuela’s Ambassador to the OAS, has always been a curious little beast.

A product of Venezuela’s ancien regime, he is one of the few highly-educated diplomats that remained in good standing with Chávez after the Revolution came to power. After the tides turned, many people in top positions turned in their resignations in disgust – Ambassador Milos Alcalay and Justice Cecilia Sosa are two that come to mind.

But not Roy.

Roy shed his old copeyano persona and embraced the revolution with fervor. His ability to re-brand himself as a leftie defender of whatever needs to be defended, along with some obvious skills, brought him close to Chávez. The Comandante quickly named him to top diplomatic posts, including a brief stint as Foreign Minister.

But now, winds have changed again, and so must Roy.

Venezuela’s government is no longer just a left-wing Revolution, but a murderous narco-state headed by thugs. What must a gal do in order to stay afloat? Why, join the thugs, of course!

So that is why Roy, in typical Roy fashion, decided to publicly fantasize today about putting a bullet through the head of anyone in the opposition, saying that when a bullet hits the head of a “squalid one,” it “goes through quickly and the sound is hollow.” It was perfect Roy – an incendiary, insulting, graphically violent quote … wrapped in a sophisticated metaphor.

I wonder what the crowds at Komi or Marcel’s will think next time Roy waltzes in with his bodyguards, probably with a boliburgués or two in tow.

Will they whisper to each other – “there is that man who wants to kill the opposition”? Will anyone wonder what kind of person publicly fantasizes about killing his political enemies? Will anyone remember Kluiverth Roa, who coincidentally died from a bullet to the head a few days ago – just like in Roy’s fantasy – while peacefully protesting against the government? Will anyone have the decency to show this hoodlum the door? Will anyone wonder what’s in Roy’s head?

Probably not. Which is why Roy finds it suitable to accommodate his personality to whomever his bosses are. The costs are minimal, and the benefits enormous. In the meantime, he will continue doing what he always dreamt of doing – playing diplomat in front of large crowds, and eating escargot at the world’s finest restaurants.

All it takes is posing as a thug.

UPDATE: Chaderton sort-of apologized. He said it was “maybe a mistake” to use “black humor.” He also said he was not going to change his way of speaking, and he was not resigning.

He still needs to go. He won’t.