Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth.

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street.

On January the 3rd, after months of strikes on Venezuelan boats, allegedly carrying drugs into the United States,

and talks of regime change from the Trump administration, a U.S. military operation captured dictator Nicholas Maduro and his

wife. They were flown to the U.S. where Maduro faces trial for narco-terrorism and for leading,

and I quote, a corrupt illegitimate government that for decades has leveraged government power

to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking."

The common reaction from world leaders was to accuse the U.S. of breaking international law, while also

being careful not to defend Maduro. A common reaction from Venezuelans around the world,

including some of the eight million who have left that country since 2017 is celebration that this dictator

who oversaw the ruin of their country has now been ousted.

In October, a 60 Minutes report described the situation in Venezuela this way, quote,

freedom isn't the only thing in short supply.

Hunger, chronic blackouts, scarcity of essential medicine plagues Venezuela. Today, more than 70

percent of residents live in poverty, a stunning reversal of fortune for a nation that was once

one of the wealthiest countries in the world, end quote. And it's true Venezuela should be

swimming in wealth, not that long ago it was. Venezuela sits on one of the world's largest

oil reserves with an estimated 302 billion barrels. That's 10% more than Saudi Arabia and

significantly more than the U.S., which has about 43 billion barrels. But today, the nation

sits on the edge of economic collapse. Now, at least part of the problem is that Venezuela became a petro state, a nation with so much profit-making petroleum,

they felt no need to diversify their economy and instead became dependent only on oil.

Petro-states are highly susceptible to market swings and disruptions in the supply chain.

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