Venezuelan despot worried about a US oil embargo

Money/CNN:
President Nicolas Maduro sharply warned Trump on Thursday not to ban Venezuelan oil from the United States. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said last week that the United States was considering a ban to pressure Maduro to adopt democratic reforms.

The oil embargo would be "one of the biggest mistakes in international politics that @realDonaldTrump would commit," Maduro tweeted Thursday after a press conference. He added: "The oil embargo is an illegal measure in light of international law, [and] an inconvenient measure in light of U.S. interests."

Experts say a U.S. ban would almost certainly choke off the South American nation's main source of income. Crude oil makes up about 95% of Venezuela's exports, and the government makes next to nothing domestically from taxes.

Related: Venezuela's oil production is plummeting

The Trump administration is considering the ban because Maduro's administration scheduled a presidential election on April 22 — without any competitors.

Maduro had blocked prominent opposition leaders from running, noting that they didn't participate in gubernatorial elections last year. Those elections, along with a critical vote in Julythat silenced the opposition, were dubbed fraudulent by world leaders. Trump and many others have labeled Maduro a dictator.

Trump has already imposed financial and individual sanctions on Venezuela and dozens of its leaders. But they haven't forced Maduro from office or forced him to govern more democratically.
...
Venezuelan refugees are already fleeing the country with the bulk of them going to Colombia.   Maduro appears to be a man incapable of comprehending how bad his policies are.  Instead, he blames others for his own failures and has enough lackeys around him to impose his failed policies on a shrinking population of shrinking bellies.

Bloomberg reports that refineries are already looking for new suppliers.  They should be looking to convert their refineries to using light crude like that from US shale wells.  That would lead to greater energy security and less reliance on imported oil.

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