This article introduces the concept of international clientelism and discusses how this diplomatic tool was employed by Venezuela under Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro as a means to get political support from several Latin American and Caribbean countries. We operationalize the concept and apply it to assess Venezuelan practices put forth in the region. We argue that the reach of Caracas’s diplomatic strategy is broader and deeper than that of simple vote-buying tactics, as it implies the promotion of structural rather than contingent ties, shielding the country against unfavorable moves in international fora. An empirical test using data for all LAC countries for the years 1999–2015 confirms that clientelistic linkages produced political support for Venezuela at the United Nations General Assembly while also moving its partners away from the United States in that institution.

中文翻译：

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国际客户网络：委内瑞拉在联合国大会上的案例，1999-2015

本文介绍了国际庇护主义的概念，并讨论了乌戈·查韦斯和尼古拉斯·马杜罗领导下的委内瑞拉如何利用这一外交工具作为获得多个拉丁美洲和加勒比国家政治支持的手段。我们将这一概念付诸实施，并将其应用于评估委内瑞拉在该地区提出的做法。我们认为，加拉加斯外交战略的影响范围比简单的买票策略更广泛、更深入，因为它意味着促进结构性而非偶然性的关系，保护该国免受国际论坛上不利行动的影响。