1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. 2 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:10,799 Speaker 2: Major breaking news, news that could shape the year, maybe 3 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:11,720 Speaker 2: even the century. 4 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: Early Saturday morning, President Trump announced that the United States 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: had successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela. 6 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 2: After months of build up. At two oh one am 7 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 2: local time today in Caracas, Venezuela, US Delta forces slipped 8 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:29,680 Speaker 2: into the home of dictator Nicholas Maduro. 9 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:33,240 Speaker 1: Within hours, President Trump took to the podium, where he 10 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:35,560 Speaker 1: made another announcement that stunned onlookers. 11 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 3: We're going to run the country until such time as 12 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:43,559 Speaker 3: we can do a safe, proper and judicious transitions. 13 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 1: The administration's decision to strike Venezuela and capture Maduro follows 14 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:50,919 Speaker 1: months of strikes on boats suspected of smuggling drugs out 15 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: of the country and a full blockade on sanctioned tankers 16 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: pulling oil out of the country. But the announcement that 17 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: the US would run Venezuela and safeguard its vast oil 18 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 1: serves came as a surprise. 19 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 2: You said that the US is going to run Venezuela. 20 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 4: So who's in power right now? 21 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:14,960 Speaker 1: In the meantime, the current regime in Venezuela minus Nicholas 22 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:17,400 Speaker 1: Maduro is working with the US government. 23 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,199 Speaker 4: They're on State TV constantly. They are, you know, sort 24 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 4: of maintaining the message to the local press that they 25 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 4: have full control. 26 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 1: Creighton Harrison overseas Bloomberg's Latin America coverage. 27 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 4: Delsie Rodriguez is the vice president of Venezuela and a 28 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:40,320 Speaker 4: very close loyalist to Nicholas Maduro. So she's sort of 29 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 4: one of the key people of this moment, along with 30 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:46,240 Speaker 4: people like Marco Rubio and Donald Trump, in determining what 31 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 4: happens next in Venezuela. You know, if you wanted to, 32 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 4: you know, express joy at the end of the Maduro regime, 33 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 4: you're not really in a position to do that. Yet. 34 00:01:57,640 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 4: The risk of a power vacuum is a problem for 35 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 4: everybody involved. We certainly know that a lot of Venezuela's 36 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 4: neighbors are watching this very closely with that same concern, 37 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,520 Speaker 4: right They're worried about potential for chaos, even if so 38 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 4: far has not happened yet. 39 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: I'm Nathan Hager, and this is the big take from 40 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 1: Bloomberg News today. On the show, Maduro is out of 41 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 1: power in Venezuela. What comes next geopolitically and economically for 42 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 1: the country, the region, and the rest of the world. 43 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:43,680 Speaker 1: The US strike in Venezuela wasn't unexpected. It followed weeks 44 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:46,919 Speaker 1: of strikes on boats, seizures of oil tankers, a major 45 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 1: US military build up, and Trump openly saying land strikes 46 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: could come next. I asked Bloomberg's Latin America regional editor 47 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 1: about what we know so far about the US's goals 48 00:02:56,919 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: in Venezuela. 49 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 4: That is the big question. I think you know, there 50 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 4: have been several rationales present it, let's put it that way, 51 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 4: but the one that was most prominent in Trump's re 52 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 4: Marx on Saturday were about oil. 53 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 3: We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, 54 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:21,079 Speaker 3: the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions 55 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 3: of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, 56 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 3: and start making money for the country. 57 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 4: So that sounds like, if you just take his own words, 58 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 4: like that's a pretty big part of the priority list. 59 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 4: What does not sound like a big priority at this point, 60 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 4: and I don't think the word was mentioned even once, 61 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 4: is democracy. 62 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: Do we have a sense so far about what the 63 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: US running Venezuela is going to look like at. 64 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 4: This point, it's very hazy. And you know, Marco Rubio 65 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 4: was on a couple of the Sunday talk shows and 66 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 4: noted that the US does not have boots on the ground. 67 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:06,120 Speaker 4: There's no presence of US military in Venezuela right now. 68 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:11,600 Speaker 4: There has been no diplomatic presence from the US in Venezuela. 69 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 2: In many years, the United States will retain multiple levers 70 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 2: of leverage to ensure that our interests are protected, and 71 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 2: that includes the oil quarantine. That's a place, among other things. 72 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 4: So it's very hard to run a country if you're 73 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 4: not there. What they appear to be doing is waiting 74 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 4: to see how the first few days play out with 75 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:35,360 Speaker 4: Delci Rodriguez in charge, and to see if she's as 76 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 4: cooperative as they think she is. And if she's not, then, 77 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:44,040 Speaker 4: as Rubio said on Sunday, you know, she may face consequences. 78 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:46,840 Speaker 1: Of course, you heard Secretary of Rubio talk about the 79 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 1: oil blockade being leverage for the US. How could that 80 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: play out over the next coming weeks and months. 81 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 4: So, first off, there is one oil manager there in 82 00:04:56,400 --> 00:05:00,600 Speaker 4: Venezuela right now. Chevron has a partnership with UH with 83 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:05,480 Speaker 4: Petroleus de Venezuela PEEVES as it's known, the state oil company, 84 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 4: and continues to operate there and export oil from Venezuela. 85 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 4: But you're right, other than that, there's no US oil 86 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 4: majors there, and the question is would they want to go. 87 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:18,839 Speaker 4: A lot is going to depend, as it always does, 88 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 4: on money, because getting new operations started up in a 89 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 4: country with a lot of uncertainty, with some poor infrastructure, 90 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 4: and with oil that's very thick and heavy crude that's 91 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:39,360 Speaker 4: not so easy to transport. They needs to be diluted 92 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:41,919 Speaker 4: just to get it through a pipeline. It ends up 93 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 4: being very expensive. And you know, Trump talked a lot 94 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:50,359 Speaker 4: about the production of this oil is sort of paying 95 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:52,480 Speaker 4: for itself in a way, right, that this would pay 96 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:56,840 Speaker 4: for any investment that the US or the oil companies 97 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:59,600 Speaker 4: had to put into it. But it's unclear if he's 98 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 4: going to to incentivize them in some way or how 99 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:05,240 Speaker 4: exactly this is going to work. 100 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: Given all this, do we have any sense about when 101 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:12,359 Speaker 1: we might see the US lift sanctions on Venezuela and 102 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:15,839 Speaker 1: what that could mean, not just for the Venezuelan economy 103 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:17,760 Speaker 1: but for global oil flows. 104 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 4: It sounds like the Trump administration. From everything Rubio said, 105 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 4: Trump has said they're not in any hurry to change 106 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 4: some of the disincentives that they have in place in Venezuela. 107 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 4: They're very much interested in holding as many cards as 108 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:38,480 Speaker 4: they can and making sure that they have cooperation from 109 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:41,480 Speaker 4: the government in Venezuela before they start making changes to 110 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:42,360 Speaker 4: LOCID things up. 111 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:45,839 Speaker 1: That raises the question about whether there could be any 112 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,800 Speaker 1: front runners or surprises from the administration when it comes 113 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:53,760 Speaker 1: to the kind of Venezuelan leader that they could be 114 00:06:53,839 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 1: able to work with. I guess Delsi Rodriguez is still 115 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:59,039 Speaker 1: a pretty open question. But are we hearing about any 116 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 1: other potential leaders who could step in and work with 117 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:04,480 Speaker 1: the Trump administration in Venezuela. 118 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,280 Speaker 4: No, we really not. The question is long term, right, 119 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 4: you know, do they want to encourage and move to 120 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 4: a more democratically run Venezuela. But right now there's no 121 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 4: name that's being floated out there. Is that next in line? 122 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 1: We heard from President Trump over the weekend that he 123 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:28,080 Speaker 1: doesn't think that opposition leader Maria Karina Machado has a 124 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: level of support among the Venezuelan people. Is that the 125 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: sense that we have that she might not have that 126 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 1: kind of level of support that the ruling party has 127 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 1: in Venezuela. 128 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 4: Well, remember that Maria Karina Machado. Of course, she did 129 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 4: not run herself in the election in twenty twenty four, 130 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 4: but she had a surrogate candidate in her place in 131 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 4: Monico Salez, and by all International Observer accounts, he won 132 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 4: handily in twenty twenty four. So we know she has 133 00:07:57,520 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 4: a certain level of popularity, or at least did in 134 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:04,240 Speaker 4: twenty twenty four when she campaigned very openly for change 135 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 4: in Venezuela. It is possible that that popularity has slipped 136 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 4: a little bit. Let's say there's a lot that's happened 137 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 4: since the middle of twenty twenty four, and she got 138 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 4: a lot of people that hoped up and then was 139 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 4: unable because of the Maduro regime to see through the 140 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,240 Speaker 4: promise of democracy that she sort of represented. But it 141 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:29,400 Speaker 4: remains true that she's a very compelling figure. The Trump 142 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 4: administration's calculation here maybe that you know, we've talked to 143 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:37,320 Speaker 4: some people who share this view that it's better to 144 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:42,360 Speaker 4: ease in a transition with the current institutions and power 145 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,200 Speaker 4: rather than try to place someone in the middle of 146 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:50,440 Speaker 4: it and risk, you know, dissent in the ranks with 147 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,679 Speaker 4: the military and other parts of the government by just 148 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 4: popping someone on top who sort of doesn't see eye 149 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 4: eye with them to begin with. So there may be 150 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 4: some cold logic to this, you know. But Trump's remarks 151 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 4: that Machado didn't have respect do hit pretty hard, and 152 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:11,720 Speaker 4: we talked to some people close to her and in 153 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:15,000 Speaker 4: her camp who were really taken it back and saddened 154 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:16,679 Speaker 4: by those comments. 155 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:21,959 Speaker 1: What the US action in Venezuela means for its neighbors 156 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,680 Speaker 1: in the region and for other global power players, and 157 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 1: how this could impact the global economy. That's next. The 158 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:40,840 Speaker 1: US mission to remove Nicholas Muduro from Venezuela and transport 159 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:43,720 Speaker 1: him to face criminal charges in New York sent shock 160 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:47,400 Speaker 1: waves around the world. I asked Bloomberg's executive editor in 161 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:50,559 Speaker 1: Latin America, Creighton Harrison, about the message this may sent 162 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 1: to other countries in the regions with leftist leaders like 163 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:54,720 Speaker 1: Colombia and Cuba. 164 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:58,560 Speaker 4: Trump, you know, Colombia, he has accused Usava Petro, the 165 00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:02,120 Speaker 4: president there, of supporting or at least looking the other 166 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 4: way at drug production there, at cocaine production, which which 167 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:11,719 Speaker 4: has grown by any measure under his presidency, so some 168 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 4: vague threats there. Cuba is in a very difficult situation 169 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:24,320 Speaker 4: right now. Economically, it's already had declines in some key 170 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:28,600 Speaker 4: industries like agriculture and tourism. Then it depends very heavily 171 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:34,320 Speaker 4: on Venezuela for oil. It's an island, right and it 172 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:37,440 Speaker 4: only has so many ways to power its economy. So 173 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:41,120 Speaker 4: it has depended for many years on a kind of 174 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 4: barter with Venezuela and which it accepts oil in exchange 175 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:49,880 Speaker 4: for services. So that barter system is now presumably under 176 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 4: threat at the very least, And if the US were 177 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:58,080 Speaker 4: to stop oil shipments to Cuba from Venezuela, it would 178 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:02,839 Speaker 4: have a pretty astic consequence for the Cuban economy because 179 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:05,360 Speaker 4: Cuba doesn't really have a lot of other sources of 180 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:06,240 Speaker 4: loyal at the moment. 181 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:09,680 Speaker 1: And just thinking about this beyond the Western hemisphere as well, 182 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:13,959 Speaker 1: if you're Chinese President Chijinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, You're 183 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:17,680 Speaker 1: Ron's president Posesshkin, all these leaders who had their own 184 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:21,680 Speaker 1: regional conflicts that the Trump administration has come out pretty 185 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:23,960 Speaker 1: hard against. How are you thinking about this? 186 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:27,320 Speaker 4: I think there's sort of two minds of looking at this. 187 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:33,080 Speaker 4: On the one hand, you know, Venezuela as allies, and China, Russia, 188 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:36,560 Speaker 4: Iran are in that group very publicly would look at 189 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 4: US intervention there as a bad thing, right Obviously, they 190 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 4: don't want to see an ally get their president captured, 191 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:50,000 Speaker 4: I don't think by any stretch. But on the other hand, 192 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:53,080 Speaker 4: at least a couple of those countries, Russia and China, 193 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:57,160 Speaker 4: have designs on their territory. 194 00:11:57,240 --> 00:11:57,440 Speaker 2: Right. 195 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:01,239 Speaker 4: In the case of Russia, you know, right, the international 196 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 4: community almost unanimously at the time rejected the world in Ukraine. 197 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:09,800 Speaker 4: The Chinese Taiwan situation continues to be a source of 198 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:12,760 Speaker 4: great intrigue around the world. You know, our colleagues in 199 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:15,560 Speaker 4: Asia had this story yesterday about people being very active 200 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:20,720 Speaker 4: on social media in China over the weekend saying, hey, 201 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:24,719 Speaker 4: this provides a template for us in Taimelan in. 202 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:27,920 Speaker 1: This intervention in Venezuela. Does this look to you like 203 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:33,360 Speaker 1: a shift in geopolitical strategy for President Trump? And if so, 204 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:35,800 Speaker 1: what do we know about what may have motivated that? 205 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:36,360 Speaker 3: Well? 206 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 4: President Trump has talked about the Monroe doctrine quite a bit, right, 207 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:47,400 Speaker 4: That's Monroe Doctrine. Date affected the nineteenth century, and is 208 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:50,320 Speaker 4: this idea that I mean depends how you define it, 209 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 4: but loosely based that the US has to protect its 210 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,559 Speaker 4: fear of influence in Latin America and has it reserves 211 00:12:56,559 --> 00:13:00,520 Speaker 4: the right to play a role in politics in those 212 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:04,360 Speaker 4: places and sort of defend them militarily and treat them 213 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:07,200 Speaker 4: as America's backyard, which is a very controversial term here 214 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:11,400 Speaker 4: in Latin America. And Trump even made reference to it, 215 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:14,040 Speaker 4: of this idea that it's now the Donroe doctrine that 216 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 4: Donald Trump has made its own corollaries to this. So 217 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:19,960 Speaker 4: you know, if you think about Venezuela as a source 218 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:23,800 Speaker 4: of oil and minerals and other things, this fits neatly 219 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 4: into that worldview. It also is consistent with other things 220 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:31,840 Speaker 4: Donald Trump has talked about, like Greenland and the Panama Canal. 221 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:35,680 Speaker 4: So you know, those things could come up again in 222 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:37,720 Speaker 4: the coming weeks as people sort of turn their attention 223 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:38,679 Speaker 4: to what he's trying to do. 224 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 1: So we're taping this around three o'clock in the afternoon 225 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:47,840 Speaker 1: East Coast time on Sunday. There's a lot that remains 226 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:50,600 Speaker 1: to be seen about what's going to happen in Venezuela. 227 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:53,680 Speaker 1: So Creighton, What are some of the biggest hurdles you're 228 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:55,320 Speaker 1: going to be looking out for in the near term. 229 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:56,840 Speaker 1: What are you going to be watching for next? 230 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:04,280 Speaker 4: I think the key is how Delsi Rodriguez plays, you know, 231 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:08,480 Speaker 4: the balance between you know, pleasing the Trump administration and 232 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 4: showing that she's the right partner for them, and keeping 233 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:18,840 Speaker 4: the Chavista government in Venezuela in line, including all of 234 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 4: Maduro's top lieutenants and loyalists. That seems like a really, 235 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:27,560 Speaker 4: really hard job. And so what she says publicly and 236 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:31,960 Speaker 4: who she talks to behind the scenes are are going 237 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,520 Speaker 4: to be really key for us to watch, And I 238 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:36,480 Speaker 4: think we'll tell us a lot about the trajectory of 239 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:39,680 Speaker 4: things in the coming weeks and months, including what happens 240 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 4: with oil, what happens with Venezuela's finances, what happens with 241 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:44,480 Speaker 4: the blockade, et cetera. 242 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:53,240 Speaker 1: This is the Big Take from Bloomberg News. I'm Nathan Hager. 243 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: To get more from The Big Take and unlimited access 244 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:59,880 Speaker 1: to all of Bloomberg dot com, subscribe today at Bloomberg 245 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:04,160 Speaker 1: slash Podcast Offer. If you liked this episode, make sure 246 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:06,720 Speaker 1: to follow and review The Big Take wherever you listen 247 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:10,040 Speaker 1: to podcasts. It helps people find the show. Thanks for listening. 248 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 1: We'll be back tomorrow.