US Opinion and Commentary

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Showing Archived Posts

Venezuela Is Holding our Son Hostage, and the U.S. Doesn’t Seem to Care

Posted November 3rd, 2016 at 9:48 am (UTC-4)
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Last year, in the aftermath of scathing criticism from the families of American hostages, the U.S. government announced that it was updating its U.S. hostage recovery policies…Yet because a foreign government and not a terrorist group holds our son, he has not received any of the benefits of these reforms.

Oil Is Still heading to $10 a Barrel

Posted July 1st, 2016 at 11:24 am (UTC-4)
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[T]he world continues to be awash in crude, and American frackers have replaced the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries as the world’s swing producers. The once-feared oil cartel is, to my mind, pretty much finished as an effective price enforcer.

Business Values are Democratic Values

Posted May 17th, 2016 at 9:17 am (UTC-4)
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This battle for democratic values is also a battle for business values. The concepts that underpin a free society are fundamental to free markets, too: values like transparency, open competition, and the rule of law.

We Ignore Venezuela’s Imminent Implosion at our Peril

Posted May 2nd, 2016 at 4:28 pm (UTC-4)
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Gangs of regime thugs now roam the streets on motorcycles and attack opposition gatherings. Meanwhile, the government is essentially shutting itself down…Remarkably, most of the Western hemisphere is studiously ignoring this meltdown. The Obama administration and Washington’s Latin America watchers are obsessed with the president’s pet project, the opening to Cuba.

Latin America’s Moment

Posted April 29th, 2016 at 4:27 pm (UTC-4)
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Much of the world’s attention is understandably focused on developments in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia….But an unintended consequence…is that many governments, corporations, and people are missing much of what is going on in Latin America. And much of what is going on in Latin America right now happens to be good.

Saving Venezuela

Posted March 24th, 2016 at 10:16 am (UTC-4)
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Standing up for freedom and justice is perhaps the very essence of the United States…. Yet, there is a humanitarian disaster in danger of slipping under our radar close to home. In Venezuela, an entire nation stands on the brink of a man-made catastrophe.

The Upside of Plunging Oil Prices

Posted March 3rd, 2016 at 1:25 pm (UTC-4)
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Many big oil exporters just aren’t the kind of countries you’d want to bring home to mother….And in many cases — Russia, Iran, and Venezuela, for instance — their hydrocarbon bounty has enabled them to intimidate neighbors, fuel adventurism, and generally project a baleful influence.

Oil Dictator Dominos

Posted February 8th, 2016 at 4:45 pm (UTC-4)
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Central Asia’s oil-producing dictatorships, including Azerbaijan, have been among the countries hardest hit by the drop in prices – especially because, as ex-Soviet states, they remain heavily dependent on trade with Russia, another oil producer.

Chavismo in Pieces

Posted December 8th, 2015 at 12:29 pm (UTC-4)
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has never had a chance to move into his country’s official presidential palace, which is still occupied by the daughter of his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez. And after yesterday’s crushing legislative defeat, odds are that Maduro will never need to call the movers.

Venezuela on the Brink — Again

Posted December 4th, 2015 at 12:37 pm (UTC-4)
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In the past, the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile and the Fujimori dictatorship in Peru were ousted by peaceful means by a fed-up electorate. The people of Venezuela are poised to do the same.