The overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria demonstrates the vulnerability of authoritarian governments such as those in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, according to analysts, who question the current capacity of Russia and Iran to actively defend their more distant allies. Assad’s Latin American supporters are watching what has happened in Syria “with great apprehension,” according to Geoff Ramsey, an analyst at the Atlantic Council, a U.S.-based research and think tank. See full story here.