Yesterday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed what anyone with Latin America experience already knew: The U.S. government won't provide security guarantees for oil companies entering Venezuela.
Trump wants billions invested. Boards are being asked to send executives into a country with active colectivos, ELN presence in the west, and a political transition that could go sideways at any moment.
Before you build your security team, check your insurance policy
This drives everything (and no I don't sell insurance).
Most boards treat Kidnap & Ransom coverage as a checkbox. But your K&R insurer (Lloyd's syndicates, Hiscox, AIG), isn't just underwriting risk. They're evaluating whether your protective operation actually reduces it. The right security posture lowers premiums and gives you pre-approved response capabilities on the ground. The wrong one means you're paying for coverage while hoping the insurer's consultants can figure out Caracas from a desk in London.
Your policy often dictates your entire security architecture: approved response firms, negotiation protocols, even which local assets you can use. Get this wrong and you're building a program your insurer won't back when it matters.
I spent 10+ years operating in Colombia and Mexico during some of the most dangerous periods in recent memory. Ran protective operations for over 5,000 personnel in highly volatile environments. Here's what most corporate security assessments miss once the budget is set:
1. The threat isn't always who you think it is. Everyone worries about cartels and guerrillas. The bigger risks are often corrupt local officials, disgruntled employees with cartel ties, or "express kidnappings" that happen in broad daylight. Your vetting process matters more than your armored vehicle.
2. Extraction plans fail because they're built for the wrong scenario. Most crisis plans assume you'll have 24-48 hours of warning. In Venezuela, the window is often 2-4 hours. Your routes, safe houses, and communications need to survive chaos, not just inconvenience.
3. "Low profile" doesn't mean what you think it means. American executives trying to blend in often stand out more. The goal isn't invisibility, it's unpredictability. Varying patterns, local intelligence networks, and real-time threat monitoring matter more than avoiding the nice hotels or wearing a Guayabera and Panama hat.
The companies that will succeed in Venezuela aren't the ones with the biggest security budgets. They're the ones who understand that executive protection in Latin America requires operators who've actually done the work in Latin America itself, not just consultants who've read about it.
If you're a board member or executive evaluating Latin America operations right now, the question isn't "how much will security cost?"
It's "who's actually protected our people in environments like this before, and what is my insurance covering, well before you find out if it matters?"