Venezuela is a leading cause of instability in Western Hemisphere: MCC Global's Caruso-Cabrera

Joe Kernen (Co-anchor of Squawk Box) 00:00.240

The US stepping up pressure on Venezuela's oil sector as President Trump tries to turn up the heat on Maduro's government. Joining us now is Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, well known to CNBC viewers. But she's now CEO of MCC Global. I almost feel like saying effing enterprises because

Joe Kernen (Co-anchor of Squawk Box) 00:20.320

it's so global. And also a a and also a CNBC contributor. So you didn't want to focus Western Hemisphere Mon Road dot. You you're global. You're

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 00:30.520

Yes. Do

Joe Kernen (Co-anchor of Squawk Box) 00:31.280

you Did you worry about being called a globalist because of that? Or do you think No you need you need to you need to do everything, right? Or else you can't just cover one part of of the globe. Well,

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 00:42.520

I I used to be the chief international correspondent There you go. here right Which basically meant I covered financial

Joe Kernen (Co-anchor of Squawk Box) 00:47.800

crisis for you You didn't you didn't you didn't think wow that's too much.

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 00:50.000

No. I can hand No I can handle the whole world.

Joe Kernen (Co-anchor of Squawk Box) 00:51.680

You can handle Yes this. is good. What's happening in Venezuela and and just reading your comments and talking to you you don't don't really you're not shy about this what a lot of people would call interventionist policy. You I sense that you think the Monroe doctrine is is

Joe Kernen (Co-anchor of Squawk Box) 01:11.960

something that that is still relevant today and that it matters what what happens in the Western Hemisphere.

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 01:17.600

Well, certainly the Trump administration has reinvigorated the Monroe doctrine. They have put it But

Joe Kernen (Co-anchor of Squawk Box) 01:22.160

in place you agree with that I think, don't you?

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 01:24.040

Well, I would say Venezuela is one of the leading causes of instability in the Western Hemisphere. Pretty much, I mean, the cause of mass migration in the Western Hemisphere is And go into

Joe Kernen (Co-anchor of Squawk Box) 01:34.240

it today. How many people? 25%. 25%,

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 01:37.480

more than 25% of the population of Venezuela left. That's roughly 8 million people. We got 3/4 of a million here. 3 million went to Colombia. Um, the gangs of Venezuela, which are extensive, it's a very criminal place, have used that exodus of people to send gang members

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 01:52.720

throughout the Western Hemisphere. We had them here in the United States. It was an election issue. It's been an election issue throughout Latin America. Um, and so that's been a cause of instability. Uh, the other issue is that Maduro is in league with Russia, China, Iran,

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 02:07.640

Hezbollah, and Cuba. Gives

Joe Kernen (Co-anchor of Squawk Box) 02:09.360

up all those bad actors of foothold in in the Western atmosphere. And

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 02:13.440

And And And many administrations look the other way for decades, and now this has returned to the Munroe doctrine, and then also the um the corollary that was put in place by Theodore Roosevelt, which said, you know, we can use gunboat diplomacy if we need to. So, they've

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 02:28.560

obviously embraced that for for a number of reasons.

Joe Kernen (Co-anchor of Squawk Box) 02:31.600

And And I I see, you know, critics of the Trump administration said that they're not a big exporter of fentanyl. Like it makes a difference whether it's coke or heroin or fentanyl. They have been poisoning the country with with exports of the illicit substances for years,

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 02:46.680

right? It is without a doubt that they provide cover for the export of drugs. Remember, I sat on this set during the Obama administration did a story about Maduro's stepson being arrested by the DOJ in Haiti he had flown into Haiti in a plane with cocaine expecting to do a deal

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 03:05.120

with another drug runner, turned out to be an undercover agent, and that plane left the presidential hangar in Venezuela. So, there's no doubt that they even if they're not producing fentanyl, they're very much involved with Right. the drug trade for sure And

Joe Kernen (Co-anchor of Squawk Box) 03:17.720

Look, the thing is you break it, you bought it. Like, what comes next? Okay. Well, we

Joe Kernen (Co-anchor of Squawk Box) 03:22.880

look at the ration and we think the we think things good things can happen it to for the world it in South America. if things go right. Yes. At least, I mean, I I know that we're You know, we have our own idea about what go right means. I mean, there's socialists that wish that

Joe Kernen (Co-anchor of Squawk Box) 03:38.600

socialism was working down there. But But is it okay to say it's when capitalism breaks out and free markets break out, good things happen to the entire hemisphere.

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 03:48.200

So, what's so interesting about Argentina and what the parallel is to Venezuela is that Argentine voters chose free markets and capitalism and small government. Voters almost So did Venezuela. And so did Venezuela. They held an election which Maduro ignored and is still in

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 04:06.920

power. So the opposition does have democratic legitimacy.

Joe Kernen (Co-anchor of Squawk Box) 04:10.960

Well, that's why Trump has so much sympathy for Venezuela. Another stolen election down there. Yes. I'm I'm kidding.

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 04:17.560

So I just got that. Yeah. Um the opposition has been on a road show trying to prove that they can lead. They started it here in New York. I attended. They've got a whole PowerPoint presentation that you can look at for all of the different sectors that you can invest in in

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (CEO) 04:31.160

Venezuela, if and when they come to power, a very very orthodox investment structure as opposed to what they've been living under. That doesn't mean they can lead though. It's It's It takes more than that.