How Venezuela Went from U.S. Ally to National Security Threat

The Chavista regime's nationalization of foreign-owned assets, coupled with political repression and U.S. sanctions, accelerated the collapse of the country’s oil industry and led the U.S. to declare Venezuela a national security threat. The relationship began to fracture with the 1976 nationalization of the oil industry by President Carlos Andrés Pérez and deteriorated severely due to economic crises, soaring poverty, and the rise of Hugo Chávez and his anti-imperialist Bolivarian Revolution. Venezuela transitioned from a close U.S. ally after the 1958 dictatorship collapse and through the anti-Communist Betancourt presidency, becoming a key source of oil and a counterweight to Cuba during the Cold War.

Author: Matthew Smith

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