The news in this BBC story strikes me as a big deal:

Mexico and Venezuela have recalled their ambassadors amid a diplomatic spat between the two countries. Mexican President Vicente Fox announced the move minutes after Venezuela said it was ordering home its envoy.Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez refused to bow to Mexican demands to apologize for warning off Mr Fox — after describing him as a “puppy” of U.S. imperialism.

The row began last week, after Mexico supported a failed U.S. bid to relaunch regional free trade talks at a summit.

On Sunday, Mr. Chavez accused the Mexican leader of disrespecting him…

“Disrespecting him”? Give me a break. Who could respect Chavez? The man’s afraid of Pat Robertson, for goodness sake, and if being afraid of a 75-year-old man isn’t weenie enough, Chavez is so afraid of dissent, his government has, as Human Rights Watch put it, “extend[ed] the scope of existing provisions that make it a criminal offense to insult or show disrespect for the president.”Mr. Chavez: Real men aren’t so afraid of a little criticism they throw critics in jail or worse.

P.S. The BBC, in its story, should have put the phrase “U.S. imperialism” in quotation marks, but perhaps this was just an oversight. Right.