1269: Venezuela | Out of the Loop

2026-01-11

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Venezuela's collapse is about way more than socialism and oil. Ryan McBeth breaks down how a resource-rich nation became a cautionary tale on our doorstep.Welcome to what we're calling our "Out of the Loop" episodes, where we dig a little deeper into fascinating current events that may only register as a blip on the media's news cycle and have conversations with the people who find themselves immersed in them.Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1269On This Episode of Out of the...

Venezuela's collapse is about way more than socialism and oil. Ryan McBeth breaks down how a resource-rich nation became a cautionary tale on our doorstep.

Welcome to what we're calling our "Out of the Loop" episodes, where we dig a little deeper into fascinating current events that may only register as a blip on the media's news cycle and have conversations with the people who find themselves immersed in them.

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1269

On This Episode of Out of the Loop:

Venezuela's collapse wasn't caused by a single villain or policy — it happened because oil money replaced accountability. Institutions were hollowed out, competence was swapped for loyalty, and when the cash dried up, the regime compensated with control instead of reform.
Hugo Chavez's "Bolivarian Revolution" brought real benefits early on — redistributing oil wealth and challenging entrenched elites. But the gains depended entirely on high oil prices, and when those collapsed around 2010, hyperinflation, shortages, and mass migration followed.
Venezuela matters strategically to the US because it sits near the Panama Canal and Gulf Coast refineries — making it a pressure point for energy markets, migration flows, and criminal networks. China and Russia have both moved in, treating the instability like an open house.
Nicolás Maduro wasn't so much a supreme leader as a traffic cop managing competing mafias. The country's power structure fractured into factions — military, political, criminal — each with its own incentives, making any clean transition extremely difficult.
Venezuela's story is a reminder that resource wealth without strong institutions becomes a trap — but it also shows that populations who've experienced democracy and prosperity tend to push back. That memory of better times can become the foundation for rebuilding.
And much more!
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