OPINION | Venezuela marks the opening move in a LatAm geoeconomic reset

Broader geoeconomic alignment

Beyond oil, the US move to reclaim its economic sphere of influence in the Western Hemisphere may open the door for more American investment in strategic sectors such as nuclear energy, port and road infrastructure, as well as the development of the region's vast critical raw materials and fertilizer supplies.

All of these sectors are currently dominated by Chinese and Russian companies in Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Peru and Chile, among others.

Yet the US approach is not without risk. Coercive US action could unsettle regional trade and investment, strain relations with key Latin American governments and, in some cases, accelerate the shift toward China rather than reversing it.

With the US intervention in Venezuela, the Trump administration could begin to roll back the region's growing geoeconomic alignment with Russia and China, but only if coercion is matched with credible economic incentives for countries to shift course, meaning this month's events have implications far beyond the oil market.

(By Martin Vladimirov. Editing by Marguerita Choy)