Currently, the United State’s relationship with Venezuela is drawing international attention for several reasons. Political disagreements, economic tension, and challenges about leadership and oil are all a part of the problem. Venezuela has large oil reserves, some of the biggest in the world, making it an important country when it comes to energy. The U.S. has also criticized the government’s leadership for some time now, leading to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Some other countries believe the capture to be unjustified, and more of a kidnapping than anything else.
While this situation seems rather distant, LSHS students tend to agree it does have real-world significance.
Junior Deven Johnston, the ongoing conflict seems to be a mix of politics and competition for limited resources.
“From what I’ve seen, it’s mostly about politics and oil. The US doesn’t really agree with how Venezuela’s government is run, and Venezuela has a lot of oil that other countries want access to, so that kind of complicates things,” Deven said.
Junior Carter Dennis claims the current problem is more specifically about Venezuela’s leadership and power.
“I think the main conflict is, isn’t it that the US doesn’t like believes Venezuela’s president is like corrupt and running the country like unfairly in Venezuela sees the US as like, interfering in their government, right? It’s basically about like, like the power and who has the right to control, who has, like, the leadership in the country,” Dennis said.
Students also think that global events, such as this one, can impact their daily lives in ways that some may not always think about.
“Stuff like this obviously affects the economy and global stability, and eventually affects everyone, even students who think it’s just another country’s problem might be affected by this,” Deven stated.
Both students emphasize the point of staying informed. Understanding how the world works and staying informed through current events is an important aspect of becoming an adult. With the current situation between the U.S. and Venezuela, don’t be surprised to see gas prices shift in the coming months if the U.S. can form oil contracts or take control of certain places, as that is a very possible reality.
