Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
What does the collapse of the Venezuelan economy tell us about U.S. relations with Latin America?
The announcement of a $50 million bounty for the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro is the latest twist in the tangled relationship between the United States and Venezuela. A spiraling political and economic crisis in the South American country driven by ever -deepening polarization between its two dueling political forces has led to both sides pushing scorched-earth economic policies. U.S. sanctions only added fuel to the fire. All this led to a GDP crash of more than 70%. While Venezuela is an extreme case, there are broader lessons here for Latin America and the Caribbean about the risks of long-term reliance on commodity exports, dangers of winner-take-all systems, and how a neighboring great power should not behave.
What does the collapse of the Venezuelan economy tell us about U.S. relations with Latin America?
The announcement of a $50 million bounty for the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro is the latest twist in the tangled relationship between the United States and Venezuela. A spiraling political and economic crisis in the South American country driven by ever -deepening polarization between its two dueling political forces has led to both sides pushing scorched-earth economic policies. U.S. sanctions only added fuel to the fire. All this led to a GDP crash of more than 70%. While Venezuela is an extreme case, there are broader lessons here for Latin America and the Caribbean about the risks of long-term reliance on commodity exports, dangers of winner-take-all systems, and how a neighboring great power should not behave.
