Venezuela: A Growing Threat to the United States 11/06/20130 The election of Nicolás Maduro ensured that Venezuela would continue to embrace the Bolivarian brand of socialism championed by the late president Hugo Chávez. Maduro has indeed retained Chávez’s leftist policies such as manipulative price controls, which has subsequently led to a stalled economy ridden with inflation [1]. Venezuela, a geopolitically significant country with vast oil reserves, has emerged alongside Brazil as one of the driving forces in South America. At the same time, Venezuela’s growing alliances with Russia and Iran have exacerbated the already contentious relationship with the United States....
