They have dubbed it the return of the useful idiots. More than half a century after western supporters of Soviet-style communism were derided for their misplaced sympathies, a new generation of celebrity activists is playing into the hands of Hugo Chavez, the leftist president of Venezuela.

Chavez’s antiwestern rantings have not deterred a stream of celebrities from paying homage to the leader of the so-called Bolivarian revolution. The latest recruit is Naomi Campbell, the supermodel turned Latin American economic specialist who last week declared her “amazement” at the “love and encouragement” that Chavez poured into welfare programmes.

Campbell’s tour was reminiscent of a visit with Kate Moss several years ago to President Fidel Castro of Cuba, when she angered his opponents by declaring him “a source of inspiration to the world”. Castro said the meeting had been “very spiritual”.

A Caracas newspaper said Campbell was wearing a “revolutionary and exquisite white dress from the prestigious Fendi fashion house” when she hugged Chavez and declared: “I’m not here to be political.”

The stream of celebrities to Caracas has upset human rights campaigners, who claim Chavez’s welfare propaganda conceals a plot to turn the country into a one-party dictatorship.

“Just being there with Chavez says that [Campbell] agrees with what is going on,” declared Maria Conchita Alonso, a former Miss Venezuela and antiChavez activist. “Do they know that last week they had a huge march of hundreds of thousands of people against the changes Chavez wants to make to the constitution?”

Other visitors have included the actors Kevin Spacey, Sean Penn and Danny Glover. Chavez’s encouragement of critics of President George W Bush has reminded analysts of Castro’s success in turning Havana into the so-called “revolutionary Riviera”.

Lenin coined the term “useful idiots” for westerners who visited Mos-cow to support the Soviet system.

Chavez has emerged as the free-spending leader of antiAmerican forces in the region. He is putting up almost $20m (£9.6m) for two films to be made by Glover; one featuring an 18th-century slave uprising in Haiti and another an adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel, The General.

Penn turned up in Venezuela last August and caused anger by visiting the studio Chavez is building to compete with North American producers.

“A lot of us think Penn was wrong,” one producer told the Chicago Sun Times. “It only gives ammunition to conservatives who like to point to Hollywood as being anti-American.”

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