Is war coming to South America?

Venezuela plans to invade a sovereign nation.

Photo: Time

Hello Financial Healers,

I’ve got a strange story for you today. Economically ruined Venezuela, controlled by socialist dictator, Nicolás Maduro, is planning to invade the sovereign nation of Guyana to steal their oil.

There is some precedent for this decision. Venezuela and Guyana have long had territorial disputes, some dating back to the 1700s. With the recent discovery of oil in Guyana, Maduro is desperate for some extra cash to reanimate his dead economy.

But here’s why the story makes me so upset—a country as broken as Venezuela would rather steal another nation’s resources than fix their own problems. It’s heartbreaking.

We know what’s going to happen. If Venezuela succeeds in annexing a portion of Guyana, Maduro’s economy will improve, for a while. But eventually this system will collapse because mismanagement, corruption, and authoritarianism are at the core of the country’s woes.

We’ll have to see if Maduro is bold enough to invade his oil-rich neighbor. The U.S. is holding joint military exercises in Guyana to dissuade Venezuelan forces, but time will only tell if this strategy works.

Praying for Guyana,
Cory De Silva

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About: Cory De Silva is an American poet, singer/songwriter, screenwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He has released two studio albums, acted in three feature-length films, and published a small book of poetry. He is a graduate of CSU Long Beach, and lives in Northern California with his wife, Colleen, and their son, Bryght.