Alejandra Herrera

Aid Finally Allowed into Venezuela

The U.S. and Colombia have had a strong relationship for much of Colombia’s 200-year history due to Colombia being one of the oldest democracies in Latin America. Known for having a past full of terrorism from infamous drug cartels, Colombia has reinvented itself and today has a stable democracy. The U.S. has a history of sending aide and assisting Colombia in its efforts to eradicate drug trafficking. From this past relationship of fighting narcotrafficking the U.S. and Colombia have come to share similar ideals such as supporting democratic governance, promoting security, and creating economic opportunities for all people (State, 2018). Sharing these ideals has also led to free trade agreements, becoming members of the same international organizations and U.S. assistance to Colombia that is more than just eradicating narcotrafficking (State, 2018). Recently the U.S. and Colombian relationships have come into the limelight. With meetings between the two countries leaders and representatives in January and February.

In the late 1970s, Venezuela thrived economically thanks to high oil prices, which allowed it to be one of the most prosperous countries in South America. Then came an oil crisis in the 1980s that significantly raised inflation. The economy continued to suffer throughout the 1990s. In 1992, Major Hugo Chavez attempted to stage a coup d’état which ultimately failed.In 1998, he was elected president after promising to reform the government and answer the needs of the people. One of his first acts as President of Venezuela was to rewrite the Venezuelan Constitution, which consolidated power in the Executive Office. The early 2000s saw Venezuela receiving vast amounts of equity as oil prices soared once again. Hugo Chavez took some of the wealth, and the other part went into paying foreign debts; however, not much went into infrastructure or the people. By March 2013, President Hugo Chavez was nearing death from cancer. One of his last appearances as president was speaking directly to the Venezuelan people to ask them to elect his newly appointed Vice President and former Foreign Minister, Nicolas Maduro. Nicolas Maduro was elected in April 2013 by an extremely narrow margin. Since his election, Maduro has had a difficult time. The economic situation his government inherited has been in a slow decline since 2010 when oil prices began to drop. Almost 90% of Venezuela’s foreign income is from oil. Even though it boasts the biggest reserve of oil in the world, in recent years it has seen a decline. One reason for this decline was the nationalization of the oil industry. He did not improve machinery, infrastructure, or employee training and conditions. In January 2016, Venezuela produced 2.3 million barrels a day, which dropped to 1.6 million barrels a day in January 2018. Production of oil continues to drop and as a result, almost 3 million Venezuelans have fled the country for lack of employment. In 2016, the country had 70 operating oil rigs which has now dropped to only 43 operating rigs. In 2018 alone, as the nation was hurting for funds, Maduro reportedly sold 40% of the nation’s gold reserves. He also implemented a cryptocurrency called petro which is tied to the Venezuelan oil industry. Petro was introduced to spur investment into the country’s oil reserves and supplement its national currency.