Friendly Strongmen

The fall of dictatorships all over South America has left Venezuela's General Marcos Perez Jimenez a lonely military strongman. Gone are Peru's General Manuel Odria, Argentina's General Juan Peron, Colombia's General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. For a bird-of-a-feather to help him celebrate Venezuelan Independence Day, President Perez Jimenez could find only President Alfredo Stroessner of tiny, backward Paraguay. Flags of the two countries flew side by side all over Caracas last week as General Stroessner and a party of 30 top henchmen played guests of honor for the 146th anniversary of Venezuela's declaration of independence from Spain.

Fatherland Week, as the holiday is called, was the kind of glittering circus that could be mounted by no Latin American nation except oil-rich Venezuela. Perez Jimenez and his guest got things started by snapping to attention in Caracas' Plaza Bolivar while a comely maiden presented a "sacred torch," run into town by relays of students from the battle shrine at Carabobo, 120 miles away. Then, before a crowd of 100,000, the two strongmen dedicated the Avenue of Heroes, a gaudy, neo-Grecian plaza fronting the mammoth Armed Forces Club. The avenue's two 100-ft. towers, six reflecting pools, 84 giant urns, 50-ft. obelisk and dozens of statues and fountains cost the nation at least $3,000,000.

A throng of 100,000 came to the port of La Guaira as 47 naval ships and 80 fighting planes passed in review. On following days 8,000 public employees, 20,000 labor-union delegates and 50,000 students dutifully paraded. To wind up a friendly week, the dictators added to each other's formidable collection of medals.

Argentina, once the domain of Perez Jimenez' friend Juan Peron, last week stepped up its drive to get Peron kicked out of his Venezuelan exile--and out of the hemisphere. The Argentine ambassador presented carefully documented proof that Peron was violating the rules of asylum, conducting an espionage and sabotage network from his Caracas apartment. Perez Jimenez angrily rejected the Argentine protest, abruptly recalled his ambassador from Buenos Aires, and declared the Argentine ambassador persona non grata. Argentina responded by suspending diplomatic relations with Venezuela.

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