The Wednesday Letter #197

THIS WEEK: Venezuela v. Guyana; Henry Kissinger's Legacy; Gold Price; Gaza Beyond Humanity; DEI Mandates; Some College Stats.

VENEZUELA V. GUYANA

Annexation by referendum is not something we see very often. But we may now see it with Venezuelans voting on Sunday to reclaim a huge share of Guyana territory. The land in question has been in dispute for a long time, but the claim gained opportunistic urgency in recent years after Guyana discovered important oil and gas reserves in its waters offshore.

Exxon believes that “the gross recoverable resource for the Stabroek Block is now estimated to be nearly 11 billion oil equivalent barrels”. Venezuela already holds immense oil reserves estimated at over 300 billion barrels. But the game theories of the oil market and the greed of autocrats are such that it cannot easily accept Guyana’s new wealth and power.

Venezuela is massing troops on the border and has a force that is vastly superior to Guyana’s. However, the biggest obstacle to an invasion is the jungle that separates the two countries. A commentator writes that there is not a single road or bridge between the …