Will the U.S. Inherit Venezuela’s Oil Curse?
The New York Times • • world
Key Points:
- In the 1970s, Venezuela experienced an oil boom that fueled rapid urban development and foreign investment, but former oil minister Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo warned that oil wealth could ultimately bring ruin to the country.
- Over two decades, Venezuela transitioned from democracy to dictatorship, nationalized foreign assets, clashed with the U.S., and suffered economic collapse marked by hyperinflation and mass migration after oil prices fell.
- In January, President Trump ordered the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on drug trafficking charges and expressed intentions to control Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, aiming to exert influence without deploying U.S. troops.
- Venezuela’s decline raises questions about the causes, including economic mismanagement, populist politics under leaders like
