Venezuela’s economy may need decades to recover from the destructive 'socialism' of Chávez and Maduro. By 2023, more than 93% of the population lived in poverty, especially in rural areas. While many are optimistic about the recent change of government, 99% of children under 15 lived in extreme poverty, with some rural regions reaching a 99% poverty rate.
Roughly eight million Venezuelans fled the country during the socialist era. Most have been slow to return, capital remains scarce and highly concentrated, and rebuilding will take time. Some new jobs are emerging from oil redevelopment, but attracting substantial foreign investment will not happen overnight.
Sect. of State Rubio seems knowledgeable about the area. A likely quality Presidential candidate in 2028, a Rubio administration might devise some sort of relief program- a mini-Marshall Plan, or an expanded high tech Peace Corp program, for Venezuela.
The country sits at the bottom of a deep economic valley carved by socialism’s ruin of a once-prosperous nation. Venezuela now has one of the smallest economies in Latin America. About 100 military and security personnel were killed during the intervention that liberated the country from socialism — an unfortunate cost. By comparison, the Maduro regime reportedly killed around 7,000 citizens in just its first year and a half in power, making extra-judicial killings standard operating procedure.
https://www.cato.org/blog/venezuelas-murderous-regime
Apparently the Pope, the EU and the Democrat party believe the intervention liberating Venezuela was immoral.
Gemini- "As of early 2026, Pope Leo XIV strongly criticized U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, calling it a violation of international law. He condemned the "zeal for war" and urged for dialogue instead of armed conflict. The Pope warned that peace is being replaced by weapons, threatening the rule of law, and called on the U.S. to respect Venezuela's sovereignty."
