Kenny Malone

Yeah, perhaps not the celebratory reaction Trump was looking for.

And, you know, from Exxon and Conoco's perspective, they say they are still owed billions of dollars that Venezuela took from them two decades ago.

Also worth mentioning, about 8 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2014.

Some of those were people that had knowledge of the oil industry.

You might miss them if you're trying to get that industry up and running again.

In fact, this is why Terry told us she does not like the term resource curse with regards to oil.

Human beings in political offices, in C-suites.

The blessing or the curse is in their hands.

This episode was produced by Luis Gallo with help from Samuel O'Horse-Kessler.

It was edited by Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Ciara Juarez, and engineered by Sina Lofredo.

Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

Also, Scotch rules.

I'm Kenny Malone.

This is NPR.

Thanks for listening.