For Venezuela, a Debt Default Trigger Is Armed

The odds that Venezuela could default on its foreign debt repayments are climbing, triggering a cascade of events that would destabilize the country. Though the country has lived with the specter of default for years, given the existential threat that it poses to the current government, Venezuelan officials have shown a willingness to cut imports and do whatever it took to raid national coffers so funds would be available to continue making its debt payments. The country's rulers have relied primarily on its security forces to contain the unrest spawned by those tactics. But Venezuela's debt problems have now turned critical, in large part because of the pressure the U.S. government is placing on major banks to keep their distance from illicit Venezuelan financial flows....