For dictators, it is no longer easy to get away from it all. Just ask Col. Moammar Gaddafi. As he tries to fend off Libya’s rebels and NATO’s no-fly zone shrinks his dominion to a sliver of real estate, he may be seriously contemplating his Plan E. Exile, that is. ¶ The trouble is, Africa’s so-called “king of kings”doesn’t have many choices. Gaddafi’s brutal treatment of Libyan citizens would make him an unwelcome house guest for any country that wants to have a semblance of a relationship with the United States or much of Europe. No Asian nation wants the headache of a dictatorial diva. Thirty-one African countries have signed on to the International Criminal Court, which probably would put Gaddafi at too much risk of ending up at The Hague. And most of his fellow Arab autocrats are hardly in a position to offer anyone a safe haven these days. Plus, if he chose a regime in his own back yard, there would be a fairly good chance he’d have to flee again — and no one likes to move twice. ¶ Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recently told ABC’s Diane Sawyer that “people close to” Gaddafi are making overtures around the world, looking for an out. But when the Libyan leader and his sons hunt for retirement destinations, they are going to come up with a very short list. If they do fuel up the jet and try to make an escape, here are a handful of locales they may try:
Venezuela
Pros: Hugo Chavez has been outspoken in his defense of the Libyan dictator and likes to calls Gaddafi a friend. Plus, his antipathy for the United States would probably make him an eager host for any enemy of the yanqui imperialists. For his part, Gaddafi is said to have had an enchanting time two years ago on the picturesque Venezuelan island of Margarita, where he found time to shop for jewelry and digital cameras.
Cons: Chavez’s own political future is very much in question. His party suffered its biggest defeat in parliamentary elections in September, and his personal popularity is on the decline, having fallen from more than 70 percent in 2006 to just over 50 percent today. Recently, his outlandish statements — such as his speculation that capitalism may have killed life on Mars — make him sound almost as unstable as, well, Gaddafi. The only thing more unhinged may be the Venezuelan economy, which has one of the world’s highest inflation rates.
Odds: 3 to 1
Zimbabwe
Pros: Closer to home, Gaddafi could seek shelter in the brutal regime of President Robert Mugabe. The Zimbabwean leader is very much a 20th-century-style dictator, ready to use death squads and outright terror to cow his people into submission. So, where many African dictatorships appear wobbly, Mugabe’s death grip on his country remains firm.
Cons: Mugabe is 87, and there is little guarantee that a post-Mugabe Zimbabwe would be safe for the Gaddafi clan. Plus, a new place in Zimbabwe could be expensive. Mugabe doesn’t do anything out of the kindness of his heart, so he would probably demand more than a few suitcases of Gaddafi’s stolen oil money.
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