You're right on many points, but I feel like Venezuela is more of just an innocent (or maybe not-so-innocent) bystander in the current energy tug of war going o

You're right on many points, but I feel like Venezuela is more of just an innocent (or maybe not-so-innocent) bystander in the current energy tug of war going on right now between the U.S. and Russia / OPEC. The increased tapping on U.S. natural gas reserves hasn't helped any of the smaller nations that rely on energy exports, so I don't think the U.S. is intentionally trying to destabilize Venezuela like it would have in the 70's and 80's- it's just a side effect of the current global energy industry.