Eli Lake, Columnist

Maduro Has Only Himself to Blame for Venezuela’s Plight

The country’s economy was in free fall before the U.S. imposed sanctions several years ago.

June 18, 2021 at 10:30 AM UTC

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

He’s surviving, but what about his country?
Photographer: FEDERICO PARRA/AFP

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Venezuela’s strongman sounds desperate. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Nicolas Maduro pleads with U.S. President Joe Biden to lift the crippling sanctions on his country imposed by former President Donald Trump.

“If Venezuela can’t produce oil and sell it, can’t produce and sell its gold, can’t produce and sell its bauxite, can’t produce iron, etcetera, and can’t earn revenue in the international market, how is it supposed to pay the holders of Venezuelan bonds?” he said. “This world has to change. This situation has to change.”