PanAm Podcast: With Venezuela on the Ropes, Maduro Reaches Out to Russia, China

As Venezuela staggers under the weight of hyperinflation, rampant economic mismanagement, and shortages of food and medicine, Nicolas Maduro is increasingly relying on allies Russia and China to prop up his hapless regime. Now widely considered a pariah by its Latin American neighbors, the ruling socialist party has negotiated a generous restructuring on a large Russian debt, and turned over a nearly 50% stake in Citgo to Russian oil giant Rosneft, in exchange for another $1.5 billion lifeline. China, meanwhile, continues to play a longterm high stakes game as it seeks to collect on its extensive loans to Venezuela in exchange for future oil deliveries. Ultimately, the only thing that may drive Maduro from power may be a concerted coordinated effort by Venezuela's creditors to seize oil shipments in order to repay debts, in the highly likely event that Venezuela is unable to meet its future debt obligations. Venezuela has under $10 billion in currency reserves, but owes nearly $200 billion to creditors.