I don't know which is more frustrating - having your flagship investment stolen from you, or missing the boat on a potential replacement. I had the heads up on VEN below a dollar, and characteristically waited for a pullback which never came.

I missed the boat a second time, but for different reasons. Basically, I hesitated because of the political situation. Did I really want to go down that road again, I asked myself. Not that Colombia is in any danger of an overturn like we saw in Ecuador or Bolivia - to the contrary - that place is locked down tight as a drum, but therein lies the problem. The Colombian govt. and right-wing paramilitaries have been fighting a dirty was against so-called insurgents for decades now - a war every bit as horrific as we saw in El Salvador or Guatemala in previous decades.

Conflicted is the short description of how I felt. Did I want to invest in a company that might be making protection payments to some of the worst human rights abusers on the planet? Google up the history of Santander Dept. to see what I mean. Truly horrific stuff. Of course I could ask the company directly, but what are they going to say? They don't mention this factor at all on their website or in news releases, so why should they tell me?

For all I know the government itself may be protecting VEN from this kind of extortion. I have no idea, and as long as I don't know I hesitate to commit. Maybe this is sour grapes on my part, but I've seen enough of this stuff up close and personal to want no part in it, even at the periphery. I may be completely wrong here - don't go by my word, do your own research. I'm just saying that for the sake of my own conscience I passed on this one.

Doesn't make it any less frustrating though - I could use a big win right about now.

ebear