The United States is the primary source
of hard currency keeping the Venezuelan government afloat. Venezuela exports an
average of 700,000 barrels of oil a day to the U.S., about half its total
exports. Because much of the other half serves as payment of debt owed to
China, a total cut in exports to the U.S. would slash Venezuelan government
income by 75 percent, Angel Alvarado, a member of congress and economist, told
The Associated Press. Venezuelan oil accounts for about 10 percent of U.S. oil
imports, meaning a cut in oil from Venezuela could have an impact on consumer
gasoline prices and on U.S. refineries. Miguel Tinker Salas, an expert in
Venezuela history at Pomona College in California, said U.S. officials likely
fear that any disruption in the oil market would increase prices in the U.S.
There is also skepticism over whether economic sanctions are an effective means
of encouraging a political opening. More…
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