According to the New York Times, that was then and this is now:
For the first time in a century, there are no rigs searching for oil in Venezuela.
Wells that once tapped the world’s largest crude reserves are abandoned or left to flare toxic gases that cast an orange glow over depressed oil towns.
Refineries that once processed oil for export are rusting hulks, leaking crude that blackens shorelines and coats the water in an oily sheen.
Fuel shortages have brought the country to a standstill. At gas stations, lines go on for miles.
Venezuela’s colossal oil sector, which shaped the country and the international energy market for a century, has come to a near halt, with production reduced to a trickle by years of gross mismanagement and American sanctions.
The collapse is leaving behind a destroyed economy and a devastated environment, and, many analysts say, bringing to an end the era of Venezuela as an energy powerhouse.
There you have it. The best case against socialism.
Of course, Venezuela is not just out of oil. It has also destroyed a once prosperous and well-educated middle class. Many from that middle class now live in the U.S. and support President Trump because they understand socialism in a way that few U.S. college students do.
As my late father said, communists steal your property and then destroy your country. Venezuela is exhibit A!
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