Iran and Venezuela against the (sane) world

In Peter Brookes' recent Heritage Foundation article, he discusses Venezuela's aggressive military and economic stance. Hugo Chavez is increasingly doing all those silly things so popular with aspiring dictators, from militarization to political indoctrination. Venezuela's arms purchases from Russia (The TJ Maxx of arms exporters) are expanding even as Chavez continues to consolidate power within his country. Although a June report by a Caracas-based agency indicates a drop in support for Chavez, particularly with respect to his political ideology, he doesn't seem to be too shattered, as his push for socialism isn't slowing down.
Another point of Brookes' article which caught our attention was the relationship between Venezuela and Iran. The two countries seem to have reached a point where one can hardly make a move without it being duplicated by the other. Consider Chavez's threats to the US naval presence in the South Atlantic:

Just this week, Latin America's troublemaker-in-chief, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, threatened the recently reactivated US Fourth Fleet with two squadrons of newly arrived Russian Su-30 fighter planes, part of a $3 billion arms package he bought in 2006.
Engaging in his unique brand of saber-rattling, Chavez said: "Any gringo ship that sails into brown [i.e., coastal] waters will itself turn brown and go to the bottom, because they'll not get through."

Chavez's words come on the heels of the Iranian announcement of a new naval weapon (The “Death Crescent,” see below) as the Islamic Republic performs missile tests and assures the world that it will triumph over any opponent.
Venezuela is notorious for fueling political unrest in the Americas, just as Iran is one of the most powerful destabilizing influences in the Middle East. Indeed, Brookes points out that Venezuela may also be jumping on the Islamic terrorism bandwagon as a platform for Hezbollah.
The startlingly similar pace of the two countries makes us wonder: if the situation explodes with one, can the other be far behind?