United States and Venezuela

Oil makes up one-third of Venezuela's entire GDP, and the United States is far and away Venezuela's largest trading partner. Relations between Venezuela and the United States, traditionally close for most of the last two centuries, began to fray in the last decade as the end of the Cold War altered the international environment. "The United States and Venezuela" attempts to place the events of the past ten years in historical perspective and to explain the reasons why the changes occurred. It also examines the impact of new actors on the international scene: drug traffickers, common citizens, human rights and environmental activists and the media.

Janet Kelly is Professor of Political Economy at the IESA, in Venezuela. She has previously taught at University of Massachusetts and serves on the board of The Latin American Research Review. Carlos Romero is an associate Professor at the Faculty of Law and Political Science in the Universidead Central de Venezuela, and chair of the department of International Studies. He has taught at University of Pittsburgh and Columbia University.