The banners can be seen across the major highways of Venezuela: “The Malvinas Are Argentine.” This impeccably democratic country that since 1958 has been an island of freedom in a sea of Latin American military dictatorships has taken the lead in supporting ihe Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands. Long one of the closest U.S. allies in the hemisphere, Venezuela now vigorously denounces the U.S. support of Britain and openly discusses the replacement of the Organization of American States with an all-Latin regional organization. Even the Catholic bishop of Cumana, in eastern Venezuela, called the U.S. position “traitorous and perfidious” (traicionera y desleal). Caracas has also offered petroleum and military aid to Argentina, and it has been a central coordinating point for discussions about Latin American joint diplomatic action against Great Britain.