Crude oil prices dipped early Monday after posting new highs for the second half, but the situation in Venezuela, an OPEC member, could erase the decline. The U.S. government could take a tougher line on Venezuela after President Nicolas Maduro went ahead with an election that his critics viewed as a grip on power. In a statement Sunday, the U.S. State Department said it would “take strong and swift actions against the architects of authoritarianism in Venezuela.” Venezuela is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the third-largest exporter of crude oil to the United States, behind Canada and Saudi Arabia. The possibility for a tighter market, and last […]