Money. Venezuela apparently has the largest oil reserves in the world. Yes, it's heavy.

Yes, I know. I hope not - we'd be back to the era of gunboat diplomacy with Latin America. We can make airy claims about the oil, but we have no claim about the gold. The drugs can move elsewhere. I'm not familiar with Dope's narrative, unless you're talking about that we should concentrate on the Pacific with China. I don't think an invasion of Venezuela is likely. V wasn't been able to develop its oil fields properly, and the Chinese have moved in, investing, and developing. The oil gets rebranded to get past sanctions, but there's no shortage of oil now, the tar sands are plenty. It would make more sense for T to embrace a dictatorship than invade. Venezuela is an authoritarian state but the bolichicos are younger, possibly more pliable. For now, I think it's show, but we've got three more years. Turning V against China would be difficult, if T manages it, another feather in his cap, but what kind of start is this? :) The problem with socialist regimes is that they never get there and break down into authoritarian states - we didn't let Chile take its chance at it, I agree, but its never worked.

Aside: Somehow we've got the get the US to the point where there are safeguards that effectively resist the pressure from our oligarchs to force taxes down.