The United States and Venezuela are on a collision course as President Trump promises to inflict economic pain if President Nicolás Maduro goes through with an election intended to enhance his powers. Mr. Maduro has pledged not to back down from the vote on Sunday, so the only question is whether the collision will be a fender-bender or a thundering crash. The Trump administration’s move on Wednesday to impose sanctions on 13 senior Venezuelan officials and others close to the Maduro regime was relatively modest. But American officials stressed that it was merely a precursor to escalating actions should the vote go forward. The two countries’ economies are tightly intertwined through the oil that Venezuela sells to the United States: It accounts for roughly 10 percent of the oil America imports. And Washington has powerful tools at its disposal, including a complete prohibition on Venezuelan oil. Whatever […]