Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host, Patrick Lane,

filling in for Jason Palmer this week. Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events

shaping your world. The coronavirus has crushed the oil market. Price is fell by more than half last month.

And as a three-year pack between OPEC and Russia comes to an end today, a price war is raging too.

With demand imploding and supply high, the industry looks set to change dramatically.

And as coronavirus lockdowns have embedded video conferences into daily life, lots of us are getting a good look into each other's homes.

We give some tips on how to create the right impression.

First up, though... Yesterday, America unveiled a plan to restore democracy to Venezuela

and end the standoff between the country's autocratic president,

Nicolas Maduro, and the opposition leader Juan Guaido.

I wanted to set out the framework for this pathway to democracy.

In a press conference, the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, laid out the proposal.

He called for a acceptable council of state to serve as a transitional government.

He called for a power-sharing transitional government in Venezuela, followed by elections later this year.

In exchange, America would lift the sanctions that have been turning the screws on the Maduro regime.

Later that day, the Venezuelan foreign minister rejected the offer outright.

But even so, it marked a shift in tone for the

Trump administration. Just last week, the Department of Justice indicted Mr. Maduro and some of his

cohorts on charges of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism. As alleged, the Maduro regime is

awash in corruption and criminality.

Maduro and his other defendants have betrayed the Venezuelan people

and corrupted Venezuela's institutions.

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