In a decade in power, Venezuela’s president Hugo Chávez has delighted in strutting the world stage, berating the US as an arrogant and meddling empire while cosying up to its most irksome adversaries.

But the recent collapse in oil revenues threatens to curb Venezuelan largesse to its would-be allies, raising questions about whether this approach to foreign policy is sustainable. “Falling oil prices are obviously going to weaken Venezuela’s influence in the region, because it is based on economic power,” said Heinz Dieterich, a professor at Mexico’s Metropolitan University and a former adviser to the Venezuelan government.