LONDON/NEW YORK –
Global investors are facing a fresh surge in geopolitical risk after the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a move that could unlock the nation’s vast oil reserves and boost risk assets over the longer-term but remain a drag on sentiment.
Market reaction was fairly muted with stocks rising, oil prices volatile and gold prices getting a lift as investors mostly shrugged off the Venezuela impact on Monday.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. would take control of the oil-producing nation, while Maduro, whom the U.S. has repeatedly accused of running a “narco-state” and rigging elections, was in a New York detention center on Sunday awaiting charges. Washington has not made such a direct intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama in 1989.
