How much can the U.S. hurt Venezuela? ...

[allin99]

same Q for Bolivia, Ecuador.

I think Venezuela has the most to lose right? i really don't know.

And realistically, what do you think we would do to them if Maduro picked up a certain fugitive in his plane?

I wonder how much it would upset other nations to see this happen. Any thoughts on that?

[railsback]

1. Ecuador saw the light. These other two, not yet.

Ecuador wants a piece of the Pacific Alliance pie, which is now producing triple the revenue for the member states. I suspect Morales will see the light, too. Not sure about Maduro, though. Just cutting back on the oil exports - maybe 100k to 200k barrels of the 900k Venezuela exports here - would do some serious damage, and Maduro doesn't have the machismo to sway a deeply divided populous like Chavez did.

In the end, IMHO, none of these countries will end up taking Snowden. There's too much at stake.

[snooper2]

2. How much?

nowhere left to go really...

&nofeather=True

[JaneyVee]

3. I swear that Vice is the only media producing news with substance.

[FreeJoe]

4. How much can it or will it?

It can nuke any of them into oblivion, but that is very unlikely.

Given the relatively bad relationship between the US and the others, what more would they do? They wouldn't try an international embargo to get them to hand over Snowden. Even our closest allies wouldn't be able to stomach that.

They could cut down purchases of oil from Venezuela, but that would have a minimal effect. The price of oil is set in a global market. What oil the US doesn't buy will be sold to someone else. There might be some temporary problems with finding refineries suited to taking Venezuela's sour crude, but that wouldn't take too much to overcome.

The US could seize Venezuela's assets in the US and maybe hand CITGO over to a big political donor, but even that would probably have repurcusions beyond what it is worth. People would be a lot less willing to invest in the US if we set the bar for asset seizure that low.

I'm sure that they have some levers to pull, but I don't think that they are the obvious levers. My guess is that the fear of assassination, coup support, and other behind the seens activity would be the levers they would reach for first.

[allin99]

5. it would certianly be very interesting...

All eyes will be on the u.s. and anything they do will be judged. and considering a good number of people in european and other friendly nations consider ES to be a whistle blower, u.s. could go down looking quite bad in this to many. That wouldn't matter *too* much, but it would be just one more bit of evidence of our bullyness which could be tad embarrassing after we promised otherwise.

Hmmm. What about Ncrga? do they have anything to lose? but they have zero money for a plane, right? although wikileaks could get them that money, with a private donation from say, an Oliver Stone or whomever.

[madrchsod]

6. not much....

the us could shut down citgo but that would raise gasoline and home heating oil prices. the huge oil fields in venezuela would be developed by the chinese and the oil would be shipped or traded .

the chinese are going to build that big sea level shipping lane through Nicaragua

[allin99]

7. All this info is so intresting...

i really appreciate everyone's insight.

i hope vnzla comes through.

Oh man, that would be absolutely insane. American fugitive numbero uno, former cia contractor having committed espionage about international espionage unfold right before everyone's eyes, taking off in a plane in plain site to a country with welcome arms. So many people across the world on team snowden, and so many against. Countries blantently helping him escape, and Russia still willing to help him on his way. Have you ever seen anything like this?

[hack89]

8. Venezuela has to import gasoline

care to guess from which refineries?

CARACAS, May 14 (Reuters) - Venezuela in 2012 became a net importer of gasoline as a result of escalating problems at its refineries and increasing demand for fuel in its internal market, joining a growing list of countries that struggle with fuel supplies despite ample oil reserves.

The OPEC nation exported 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) of gasoline and naphtha last year, according to state oil company PDVSA's annual report. But it imported an average of 66,300 bpd of the same fuels from the United States alone, according to U.S. Energy Department data

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/14/venezuela-gasoline-idUSL2N0DU2NT20130514