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<p class="MsoNormal">See article on the history of Venezuelan oil. I
think it will be of
special interest to those who were at the November 17 HAC Timely
Topics meeting, "Venezuela
and the curse of its oil". The article is not a short one, but I
think
you'll find it interesting even if you read only part.<br>
<br>
Manny<br>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Link to article:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/02/20/venezuela-oil-petrostate-erwin-arrieta-history-00765480?nid=0000018f-3124-de07-a98f-3be4d1400000&nname=politico-toplines&nrid=e70b6718-81b0-484d-96df-c6469d3c1c71">https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/02/20/venezuela-oil-petrostate-erwin-arrieta-history-00765480?nid=0000018f-3124-de07-a98f-3be4d1400000&nname=politico-toplines&nrid=e70b6718-81b0-484d-96df-c6469d3c1c71</a>
<br>
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<td>My family built Venezuela’s petrostate</td>
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<p
style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:24px;line-height:24px;">When
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that
America will temporarily “run” Venezuela with
the help of U.S. oil companies, POLITICO
reporter Isa Domínguez thought of her family
history — one that carries striking lessons for
the future of U.S.-Venezuela relations.</p>
<p
style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:24px;line-height:24px;">“More
than a century ago, my paternal third
great-grandfather, Juan Vicente Gómez — who
declared himself president following a coup —
launched the nation’s petroleum industry. It was
a move that made Venezuela, for a brief moment,
one of the richest countries in Latin America.
But ultimately, the rich got richer while the
poor got poorer,” Domínguez writes.</p>
<p
style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:24px;line-height:24px;">Decades
later, her maternal grandfather tried to set
things right as Venezuela’s oil czar. But then,
in 1998, the election of Hugo Chávez changed
everything.</p>
<p
style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:24px;line-height:24px;"><a
href="https://url4027.email.politico.com/ss/c/u001.6g0Zd3AyneOViJYBXgbV65ZWHEH5gWGSDKLrcKzwr396MPjho3G2zOoP4i1NAyC2lB_dZzctmA9RuNR5D8sjTRozPAHjDOotI_rd6rJLGD-OhOlGt8g7zxtgq6SC91g8EK0kP--5xcMByh8tb0ztvKIi515FzNn4EhnaTKpW0bEvwW-p_B6aqMy8DoDHeIoXpPd4vHOc6oOUgRFWUfpM0dviLSeJejGoFiktewL2uiF32tjY6CaGDH04ChJYMpywByYdSLeG_bcao7wiSlgZNg6kY8IlYPwGCWxkQIzejqk/4oc/SuQbRijXTjyZyoq0gv9A7g/h3/h001.fHGJ5a-yl2NHxXX-81dQGKWug_FbKGdkDMKQOCiesS8"
moz-do-not-send="true"><strong
style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;">Read
the story</strong></a><strong
style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;">.</strong><br>
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src="https://www.politico.com/dims4/default/31cfc6f/2147483647/resize/1000x/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2F08%2F2d%2Fc676de784eb8a2ad47e3fead35cf%2Fweekend-icons-whodissed.jpg"
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<p
style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:24px;line-height:24px;"><strong
style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;">“They’re just
being fools and lapdogs for the RINOs and the
radical left Democrats.”</strong></p>
<p
style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:24px;line-height:24px;"><i>Can
you guess who said this about Supreme Court
justices? Scroll to the
bottom for the answer.**</i><br>
</p>
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title="weekend-label-letter-from-Korea"
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<p style="margin:0 0 20px 0;" align="center"><a
href="https://url4027.email.politico.com/ss/c/u001.6g0Zd3AyneOViJYBXgbV65ZWHEH5gWGSDKLrcKzwr396MPjho3G2zOoP4i1NAyC2dGs1GM4AYN61I5cCIskjhpOYPp6JJ31Jhqqf5aD10yUqXHUO4aM6S2H4cO73XeWlB1yk3V_1UCcXSlcaztn76R3grPsRdYWeTmcfROXoF0p29xxe6xbTp-6nCrxXMUnQzBvM8koQoGzODXcS540_YGxTuj4vHZ9pVNEQpefwN9KClpRjQ01y6OoawoM3DEFwiAiuQ9nKkX5hwvTudT5OHg/4oc/SuQbRijXTjyZyoq0gv9A7g/h5/h001.GH1kVubP5iOH9A1mJwcbRkaJh4beb8GhDiwjy_3yzJg"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"><img
src="https://www.politico.com/dims4/default/1003016/2147483647/resize/1000x/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2F8e%2Fd7%2Ff039ab8145d9868cfb9b1a1cc328%2Fv1.png"
title="Mag.Kim.AIOptimism.Illustration.png"
alt="Photo collage of a human hand putting a
smiley face sticker on a humanoid robot."
style="width:100%;max-width:500px;"
moz-do-not-send="true" width="500"></a></p>
<p
style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;color:#6E7381;margin-bottom:24px;">Illustration
by Jade Cuevas/POLITICO (source images via
iStock)
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<p
style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:24px;line-height:24px;"><a
href="https://url4027.email.politico.com/ss/c/u001.6g0Zd3AyneOViJYBXgbV65ZWHEH5gWGSDKLrcKzwr396MPjho3G2zOoP4i1NAyC2dGs1GM4AYN61I5cCIskjhpOYPp6JJ31Jhqqf5aD10yUqXHUO4aM6S2H4cO73XeWlB1yk3V_1UCcXSlcaztn76R3grPsRdYWeTmcfROXoF0p29xxe6xbTp-6nCrxXMUnQzBvM8koQoGzODXcS540_YGxTuj4vHZ9pVNEQpefwN9KClpRjQ01y6OoawoM3DEFwiAiuQ9nKkX5hwvTudT5OHg/4oc/SuQbRijXTjyZyoq0gv9A7g/h6/h001.NpLrgOl7edOjQM_dsRop9RSQ1-srPYySPqY7DBEd14w"
moz-do-not-send="true"><strong
style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;">Why
SK Loves AI</strong></a><strong
style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;">
... </strong>Voters in the U.S. and around
the world are expressing skepticism of AI — but
not so much in South Korea. A Pew survey found
the country has the lowest percentage of people
who say they are more concerned than excited
about the rise of the new technology. That
tracks with what POLITICO Magazine’s Catherine
Kim encountered on her recent visit to Seoul,
where AI enthusiasm is booming. “Some of it may
be for unique historic and cultural reasons,”
she writes, “but it’s also possible that South
Korea is just ahead of the curve — and that the
incentives driving an embrace of AI here will
soon be found across the globe.”<br>
</p>
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<p style="margin:0 0 20px 0;" align="center"><img
src="https://www.politico.com/dims4/default/b8b7ca9/2147483647/resize/1000x/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2Fed%2Fd3%2F3075c9ad4f1ab889b1a6608ece3f%2Fweekend-labels-qa.jpg"
title="Weekend-Labels-QA.jpg" alt="Text reads
Q+A" style="width:100%;max-width:500px;"
moz-do-not-send="true" width="500"></p>
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<p style="margin:0 0 20px 0;" align="center"><a
href="https://url4027.email.politico.com/ss/c/u001.6g0Zd3AyneOViJYBXgbV65ZWHEH5gWGSDKLrcKzwr396MPjho3G2zOoP4i1NAyC2MdizYxGg5mESiXSqXWK5SQUIhAuF0DAnvGErxs2Yeg1FSSREc_0yojzV4opqpcoi1VfeOcRK9HDDiIST_-eWIuEEoAsxEwiiCGRXjnF0U1M2rNsNOMzjWPuTBqUPmtONiexuVGyLNjLMBcygwdxZ6IRTZB1PePbW-iZjuU0-YmX9DUQGuNHguPMsxpw-N8XcWkzYazeY0cv-oejKZTgl96E16H5t0YCVh21L0gFN55M/4oc/SuQbRijXTjyZyoq0gv9A7g/h7/h001.m2UWbKkUp_1gKSsWMN437MrTAjG8WKtsSznbsjygm5Y"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"><img
src="https://www.politico.com/dims4/default/f648a62/2147483647/resize/1000x/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2F67%2Fb3%2Fb6c028ce475c97c71b6425abf1cc%2F2026-0212-massie-francis-2-1-edit.jpg"
title="2026-0212-MASSIE-francis-2-1-Edit.jpg" alt="Thomas Massie sits
for a portrait in his office."
style="width:100%;max-width:500px;"
moz-do-not-send="true" width="500"></a></p>
<p
style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;color:#6E7381;margin-bottom:24px;">Rep.
Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) sits for a portrait in his
office on Capitol Hill, on Feb. 12, 2026. |
Francis Chung/POLITICO</p>
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<p
style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:24px;line-height:24px;"><a
href="https://url4027.email.politico.com/ss/c/u001.6g0Zd3AyneOViJYBXgbV65ZWHEH5gWGSDKLrcKzwr396MPjho3G2zOoP4i1NAyC2MdizYxGg5mESiXSqXWK5SQUIhAuF0DAnvGErxs2Yeg1FSSREc_0yojzV4opqpcoi1VfeOcRK9HDDiIST_-eWIuEEoAsxEwiiCGRXjnF0U1M2rNsNOMzjWPuTBqUPmtONiexuVGyLNjLMBcygwdxZ6IRTZB1PePbW-iZjuU0-YmX9DUQGuNHguPMsxpw-N8XcWkzYazeY0cv-oejKZTgl96E16H5t0YCVh21L0gFN55M/4oc/SuQbRijXTjyZyoq0gv9A7g/h8/h001.nK55K42o0kbjGYSQd7Q6hHwqztTiRNSuLiL8J9YYCkE"
moz-do-not-send="true"><strong
style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;">The
Rebel Wants Recruits</strong></a><strong
style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;">
...</strong> Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky
has vexed his party’s leadership with his
libertarian values and dogged pursuit of
transparency in the Jeffrey Epstein case —
repudiations of President Donald Trump that have
not seemed to hurt Massie with his dedicated
voting base back home. In a new interview, he
tells POLITICO Magazine that “you’re going to
see more defections” — and dishes on his viral
moments turning the screws on Attorney General
Pam Bondi.<br>
</p>
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<p
style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;color:#0075A5;margin-top:0;">
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<p style="margin:0 0 20px 0;" align="center"><img
src="https://www.politico.com/dims4/default/39aef88/2147483647/resize/1000x/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2Fe4%2Fbf%2F8fcc72a64ab982492c03fd9a4d70%2Fweekend-label-perspective.jpg"
title="weekend-label-perspective" alt="Text
reads: Perspective"
style="width:100%;max-width:500px;"
moz-do-not-send="true" width="500"></p>
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<p style="margin:0 0 20px 0;" align="center"><a
href="https://url4027.email.politico.com/ss/c/u001.6g0Zd3AyneOViJYBXgbV65ZWHEH5gWGSDKLrcKzwr396MPjho3G2zOoP4i1NAyC2Bxh2WMaAd-DoScMlzu8diWKQpTE3xCwkH9lE9YtfJdKY_KBkXqcGT_IJkmIQEkQ0PfyCVquLszFBtcNWFxhlayXdK1vexw91UVp1K9socrYsZcffqQAQw2HVUnkE8QvNp1w5ASvllc6CK6xho4h65bdaP8rNPvgSBGZSb8J2gcYX56dF8uVztC9YtkdWXUxy6eFerjGysH2hzlcIB-UBtw/4oc/SuQbRijXTjyZyoq0gv9A7g/h10/h001.mSi6SQxoeMwrZVxhoZt8k6dapEk4t0ODXtiHg6zxwoI"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"><img
src="https://www.politico.com/dims4/default/93f6e2b/2147483647/resize/1000x/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2Fbb%2F25%2Ff0a8dc7f43959067adf0012cb766%2Fjesse-jackson-and-david-dinkins-aphs287641.jpg"
title="Jesse Jackson and David Dinkins"
alt="Reverend Jesse Jackson, left, and Mayor
David Dinkins embrace at a Get out the Vote
rally in Harlem"
style="width:100%;max-width:500px;"
moz-do-not-send="true" width="500"></a></p>
<p
style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;color:#6E7381;margin-bottom:24px;">Reverend
Jesse Jackson, left, and New York City Mayor
David Dinkins embrace at a Get out the Vote
rally in Harlem on Saturday, Oct. 30, 1993. |
Jim Cooper/AP</p>
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20px;text-align:left;font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:16px;color:#000000;">
<p
style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:24px;line-height:24px;"><a
href="https://url4027.email.politico.com/ss/c/u001.6g0Zd3AyneOViJYBXgbV65ZWHEH5gWGSDKLrcKzwr396MPjho3G2zOoP4i1NAyC2Bxh2WMaAd-DoScMlzu8diWKQpTE3xCwkH9lE9YtfJdKY_KBkXqcGT_IJkmIQEkQ0PfyCVquLszFBtcNWFxhlayXdK1vexw91UVp1K9socrYsZcffqQAQw2HVUnkE8QvNp1w5ASvllc6CK6xho4h65bdaP8rNPvgSBGZSb8J2gcYX56dF8uVztC9YtkdWXUxy6eFerjGysH2hzlcIB-UBtw/4oc/SuQbRijXTjyZyoq0gv9A7g/h11/h001.ZvabAk_ZYNdvtBQ1u7c5hLD1UEz6jlht3aRE3GlzTEM"
moz-do-not-send="true"><strong
style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;">Jessie
Jackson Is Still the Future</strong></a><strong
style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;"> ... </strong>Author
Eric Easter worked on the presidential campaigns
of the late civil rights icon Jessie Jackson,
who died Tuesday at 84, and served as his press
secretary. In a new essay in POLITICO Magazine,
Easter argues that Jackson’s gifts as a
storyteller who could cut across divides
provides a path forward for the country: “Jesse
Jackson has not just left us with a legacy; he
left a lesson, for us and for the Democratic
Party, about showing and not just telling that
we are not unique in our struggles nor alone in
our battles.”<br>
</p>
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solid #E5E7EB;" height="20"> </td>
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20px;text-align:left;font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:16px;color:#000000;"><br>
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<p style="margin:0 0 20px 0;" align="center"><img
src="https://www.politico.com/dims4/default/654d62d/2147483647/resize/1000x/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2Fa8%2Fda%2F556aeec5470ca66637fc528fc886%2Fweekend-label-below-the-beltway.jpg"
title="weekend-label-below-the-beltway"
alt="Text reads: Below the Beltway"
style="width:100%;max-width:500px;"
moz-do-not-send="true" width="500"></p>
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<p style="margin:0 0 20px 0;" align="center"><img
src="https://www.politico.com/dims4/default/1781952/2147483647/resize/1000x/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2F60%2Ffb%2F1ea3b4d84d689da6bff199cba9a3%2Fwu260218-1160-copy.jpg"
title="M. Wuerker - Politico" alt="political
cartoon" style="width:100%;max-width:500px;"
moz-do-not-send="true" width="500"></p>
</td>
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20px;text-align:left;font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:16px;color:#000000;">
<p
style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:24px;line-height:24px;"><i>From
the drafting table of editorial cartoonist
Matt Wuerker.</i><br>
</p>
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<p
style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:24px;line-height:24px;"><i>**Who
Dissed? answer: It was Trump, reacting to the
Supreme Court’s decision to upend his global
tariffs, a core part of his economic agenda.</i></p>
<p
style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:24px;line-height:24px;"><a
href="mailto:politicoweekend@email.politico.com" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true">politicoweekend@politico.com</a></p>
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