Nicolas Maduro’s long struggle to strengthen his grip on power has created a criminal hybrid state in Venezuela. Kleptocratic patronage networks have plundered public assets, narcotrafficking has become a state enterprise, and the regime openly tolerates brutal criminal gangs in return for the gangs’ support. Now, Maduro’s refusal to concede defeat in Venezuela’s recent presidential election has plunged the country into a new spiral of political repression and economic crises.

Join Hudson for a discussion on how these crises will affect the evolution of Maduro’s criminal networks, the threat to regional security, and broader implications for the United States’ Venezuela policy, including how the US should dispose of the billions of dollars seized during criminal proceedings against members of Maduro’s inner circle.