Forget the opposition. OPEC is doing more to ruin the holiday season for Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro than any of his rival lawmakers. Maduro stepped up attacks on his opponents this month after they won enough seats in congressional elections to challenge his government. While bonds initially rallied on optimism the opposition victory could lead to more market-friendly policies, Maduro’s comments quickly killed that euphoria. Now, it’s the rout in oil that’s doing the most damage to the prices of the securities. Oil, by far Venezuela’s biggest export, has plunged 17 percent to an 11-year low since the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries abandoned production limits at its Dec. 4 meeting. Venezuela’s benchmark bonds due in 2027 are at the cheapest since August, and traders see a 71 percent probability that the country will default in the next 12 months, credit-default swaps show. That’s up from 61 percent the […]