As Venezuelan Economy Unravels, Maduro Opponents Hope Downturn Will Topple Him

 President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela drove himself to an ailing iron plant this month to tout its export capacity amid tightening American sanctions. “No one is going to stop us,” he said with his wife by his side as they watched a conveyor belt of iron briquettes at the Guayana Steel Complex. “These are the days of victory!” Two days later, the plant was out of business. It was paralyzed by the crippling national blackout that lasted almost five days and wiped out what little was left of Venezuela’s heavy industry. The blackout, coupled with new American sanctions on Venezuela’s critical oil sector, have pushed the country even closer to total economic collapse. More…