Simulation Position Memo: USAID Administrator Social Sciences Essay

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Simulation Position Memo: USAID Administrator
1 Summary of the collapse in Venezuela and what the U.S. interest in the country
Over the last decade, the United States has maintained a close tie with the oil-rich nation, Venezuela despite enormous bilateral friction caused by the leftist populist government of the country led by the late President Hugo Chavez. Before passing on in 2013, Chavez was re-elected in 2012 after serving his first term of six years in office. Nicolas Maduro, the acting President and the vice president under Chavez’s administration won the 2013 elections with a small margin of 1.49 percent than his opponent (Sullivan 3). Chavez’s re-election in 2012 and Maduro’s presidential victory in 2013 largely benefited from the use of public resources and the supportive media during the campaigns. While the opposition filed a case in the Supreme Court challenging Maduro’s win in 2013, these efforts were thwarted. Maduro’s administration continues to face serious economic challenges in the face of a nation experiencing rampant cases of violence and crime. The United States is deeply concerned about the nation’s deteriorating democratic and human rights conditions, the lack of bilateral cooperation in the efforts to address the issues of terrorism and drug trafficking, and its association with Iran. In this regard, the U.S. continues to impose financial sanctions on government officials and companies supporting drug trafficking and collaborating with Hezbollah and Iran. To date, Venezuela remains to be one of the major importers of oil to the United States, although its production and global U.S. oil imports are on the decline.
2.0 Role’s Objectives
The National Security Council (NSC) is concerned about the social, political, and institutional crisis besides the economic turmoil the country has been witnessi...