Few nations have had as massive an infusion of U.S. private capital as Venezuela, where a $2.5 billion petroleum industry pumps 2,800,000 bbl. of oil daily and returns $2,100,000 a day in royalties and taxes to the government treasury. Fewer still have benefited more widely. Oil earnings have transformed Caracas into a skyscraper city and raised per capita income to an estimated $800, highest in Latin America. The U.S. companies poured their big profits (sometimes over 30%) back into the country because they were confident of fair treatment. Last week that confidence was shaken by an abrupt government decree...
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