Venezuelan Oil Policy: A Security Perspective

Paper Summary:

Venezuela has traditionally exhibited more peace and inner tranquility than its South American neighbors. It is one of the few South American governments in which the military exerts no influence on public policy. It is also very prosperous as compared to its neighbors, with the bulk of its wealth coming from its rich oil resources. Venezuela has been a stable democratic regime since the late 1950s, which also makes it an anomaly among other South American countries. However, Venezuela's peace and security should not be construed to mean that it has no security concerns. Venezuela has important resources that it must protect, radicals that it must keep in check, and politically unstable neighbors that it must continually guard against. This paper examines Venezuelan national security policy and makes specific recommendations as to what policies Venezuela should follow based on its particular national security concerns.

From the Paper:

"Venezuela's location near major drug production centers and its vast jungles capable of hiding drug production operations make the illegal drug trade a major problem for Venezuela. Columbia, which is Venezuela's neighbor, is a major producer of cocaine, and cocaine producers in that country regularly transport their illegal products through Venezuela. This is because Venezuela has a long coastline bordering the Caribbean Sea, making it an ideal location from which to ship out the cocaine to international destinations. The fact that drug producers are using Venezuela as a shipping-off point for their products is of great concern. The presence of these drug producers in our country puts our citizens in danger. Drug producers and traffickers are not known for their peaceful qualities, and encounters with these people may result in harm to our citizens, especially if the traffickers believe our people are interfering in their activities. Some of our citizens may also be susceptible to being drawn into the drug trade from contact with the drug traffickers."

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