In a beautiful statement, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on the world to stand up for Venezuela’s battered democracy. Rice appealed to the governments of Austria, Spain, Brazil and others to get up off their duffs and face facts and start saying something to defend the last tattered remains of Venezuela’s democracy. To date, they’ve not done a thing. But now the time for hiding, hunkering down, pretending there’s no problem, and turning one’s head is long, long gone.

Rice specifically cited Hugo Chavez’s monstrous Sumate trial against Venezuela’s battered civil society democrats, something that is the biggest Burma-style kangaroo court travesty seen in this hemisphere in centuries. Rice actually called it a “kangaroo” court. Just look at the sick details of that thing!

“We must show what is happening.” She labeled the trial against NGO S????mate as a disgrace and deceitful.

“The international community should be more active to support and defend the Venezuelan people.”

The El Universal item describing Rice’s speakout against the odious regime of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez is here. The prepared testimony, in PDF format, is here, although her Venezuela statements apparently were made during the question and answer period. A news editorial reflecting Rice’s sentiment, from a few days ago is here.