ORIGINAL FEATURE FILM PROPOSAL
"He thought he was driving. He was only holding the reins."
How Venezuela lost its oil sovereignty to American creditors—forty years before anyone noticed
THE CONDUCTOR is a hybrid documentary-thriller that reveals how Venezuela lost its oil sovereignty through a 40-year financial trap—signed in 1986, sprung in 2026.
This is not a story of villains and heroes. It's a story of architecture—the invisible systems designed to extract value over decades, regardless of who holds power.
Format: 40% Archive Footage • 40% Dramatic Scenes • 20% Motion Graphics
This project demonstrates a revolutionary film development methodology:
Human-AI Collaboration in Professional Screenwriting
⚡ Result: Complete professional development package in 8 hours—a process that typically takes weeks or months.
Technology Stack:
VS Code • Claude Code (AI Agent) • Fountain (screenplay format) • Git (version control) • Markdown (documentation)
For the Film Industry:
Demonstrates that AI can accelerate professional development without replacing human creativity. The architecture, vision, and storytelling remain human—AI handles translation and formatting.
For AI Development:
Proves that human-AI collaboration works best when humans provide architecture and AI provides execution—not the other way around.
For Independent Filmmakers:
Shows that world-class development documentation is now accessible without film school training or expensive consultants—if you understand story architecture.
This Development Package includes comprehensive planning documentation. The full production screenplay is available below in the SCREENPLAY section:
the-conductor.fountain
Note: This development package provides the architecture and planning. The .fountain file contains the complete screenplay ready for production. Both documents together form the complete professional film project.
📧 More details available upon request • Contact: dynamoai.tech(at)gmail(dot)com
"What took a semester of film school now takes a weekend with the right methodology."
Genre: Political Thriller / Documentary Drama
Format: Hybrid (archival footage + dramatized scenes +
motion graphics)
Runtime: 90-120 minutes
Tagline: “He thought he was driving. He was only
holding the reins.”
A charismatic revolutionary president thinks he’s outsmarting global powers by using oil revenue for his people, only to discover he’s been deepening a 40-year trap designed by invisible architects who profit whether he succeeds or fails.
BASED ON TRUE EVENTS
In 1986, Venezuela borrows billions to buy American oil refineries, told this will secure their economic future. Forty years later, the refineries are seized by the same creditors who financed the purchase, and a US military operation extracts the Venezuelan president—who may have negotiated his own capture to escape certain death.
This is the story of THE CONDUCTOR (the visible leader) and THE ARCHITECTS (the invisible designers of long-term extraction systems).
“Building the Trap”
Opening Image: - 1976 Venezuela, oil nationalization celebration - Crowds cheering, national pride - CARLOS, young technocrat, watches skeptically
Setup: - 1980s oil price crash creates crisis - US investment bankers arrive with solution: “Buy American refineries” - Venezuelan elite debate the CITGO acquisition - CARLOS becomes lead negotiator
Inciting Incident: - 1986: CITGO deal signed, financed through massive debt - CARLOS celebrates securing “Venezuela’s future” - First payment due immediately - Realization: debt service exceeds projected profits
The World: - Caracas elite parties, Swiss banking, Harvard MBAs - Washington backrooms, creditor meetings - US Gulf Coast refineries specifically designed for Venezuelan crude - Technical details: heavy vs light crude economics
Introduction of HUGO CHÁVEZ: - 1992 coup attempt (failed) - Prison, reading, planning - 1998 election campaign: “The people vs the oligarchs” - End of Act I: Chávez inaugurated, CARLOS watches nervously
Act I Twist: - Chávez discovers CITGO ownership - “They sold our sovereignty for debt? I’ll use THEIR infrastructure for the PEOPLE!” - Decision to deepen dependency through social spending
“The Useful Revolutionary”
Rising Action:
2000s: The Golden Years - Oil prices high, Chávez expands social programs - Healthcare, education, housing - all funded by CITGO revenue - Venezuelan people love him - Elite (CARLOS included) alarmed
The First Moves Against Chávez: - 2002 coup attempt (CARLOS involved, conflicted) - Oil executive strike - Economic warfare - Chávez survives, becomes more radical
Parallel Track - THE ARCHITECTS: - ELLIOT REED (hedge fund manager) buying distressed Venezuelan debt - “It’s not about getting paid back. It’s about positioning for the seizure.” - Engineering firms that built 1980s refineries now consulting on “Venezuela risk” - Court proceedings beginning: “When they default, we take CITGO”
The Dependency Deepens: - Venezuelan budget completely reliant on CITGO revenue - Social programs irreversible politically - Chávez nationalizing more industries - Elite fleeing to Miami (CARLOS stays, torn)
Midpoint - Chávez Dies (2013): - Cancer, age 58 - Allegations of poisoning (never proven) - NICOLÁS MADURO inherits impossible situation - CARLOS now advising Maduro: “We’re trapped”
Complications: - 2014 oil price crash - Economic crisis begins - Maduro lacks Chávez’s charisma - Popular support eroding - Debt payments missing - Russia, China lending more money (trapping deeper)
2016 - The Rosneft Loan: - $1.5B loan with CITGO as collateral - MADURO signs, desperate - ELLIOT REED: “Now we have multiple creditors fighting over the carcass”
Low Point (2019): - US sanctions freeze CITGO access - Venezuela cannot touch THEIR OWN ASSETS - Social programs collapse overnight - Hyperinflation - Starvation - Maduro isolated, paranoid
“The Deal”
Darkest Hour: - Maduro surrounded by enemies: -
Cartels he double-crossed - People starving and enraged
- Russia/China demanding repayment - His own military plotting coups -
Wife CILIA: “We’re going to die here”
Discovery of the Architecture: - CARLOS (now elderly, exiled in Madrid) pieces it together - Flashbacks showing: same engineering firms, same banks, same pattern - “It was designed from the beginning. Chávez thought he was winning. He was deepening the trap.”
The Negotiation (2024-2025): - Secret contact: US intermediary to Maduro - Offer: “Safe extraction for you AND your wife” - Maduro’s demand: “Only if you save Cilia too” - US agrees: “Drug trafficking charges for both - it’s cover for extraction”
Chinese Coordination (speculative but dramatic): - 2025: Chinese diplomats meet with Maduro - Appear to offer support - Actually mapping security, reporting to US - “China wrote off the Venezuelan debt. Better to coordinate with US than oppose.”
The Extraction (January 2026):
SEQUENCE: - Chinese diplomats meeting Maduro in presidential headquarters - Tense conversation: “You cannot win. But there is a way to survive.” - Meeting ends - Three minutes later - US special forces arrive - Precision operation: no resistance - Maduro and Cilia extracted together - Media narrative: “Drug lord dictator captured”
Parallel: Court in Delaware: - ELLIOT REED’s company Amber Energy wins CITGO auction - Same week as Maduro capture - “Remarkable timing” - Gulf Coast refineries now under US control
Climax - Maduro in Custody: - Comfortable facility, not prison - Meets with US officials - Intelligence debriefing on cartels, Russian operations, Chinese coordination - MADURO: “I was useful to everyone. Even my resistance served their purposes.”
Resolution: - CARLOS in Madrid, writing his memoir - “The Conductor and The Architect” - Reflects on 40 years: “We thought we were making decisions. The architecture was already designed.” - Final image: CITGO refinery, American flag, press conference announcing “$100 billion reconstruction investment” - Engineering firms winning contracts: same companies that built it in the 1980s
Shanghai, 2027: - Chinese oil executives meeting - “Venezuela production restored, US paid for it” - “We signed new oil contracts with the new government” - “Americans spent the blood and treasure. We get the long-term access.” - Toast: “To the conductor and the architect” - Reveal: The US intermediary who negotiated Maduro’s extraction is in the room - Everyone coordinating at architect level
The Useful Revolutionary - Charismatic, genuine, idealistic - Believes he’s outsmarting the empire - Unknowingly deepens the trap - Dies suspiciously young - Arc: True believer who serves the architecture through resistance
The Pragmatic Survivor
- Inherits impossible situation - Tries to continue Chávez’s vision -
Realizes the trap - Chooses survival over ideology -
Arc: From revolutionary to negotiator, trading
sovereignty for life
The Bargaining Chip - Maduro’s wife, former lawyer - “Drug trafficking” charges are theater - Her inclusion in deal proves negotiation - Symbolic: The conductor’s vulnerability made visible
The Venezuelan Technocrat - 1986: Young economist negotiating CITGO deal - 2000s: Elite advisor warning against dependency - 2013: Advising Maduro, seeing the trap close - 2026: Exiled in Madrid, writing the truth - Arc: From believer in the system to witness of the architecture
The Architect - Hedge fund manager - Buys Venezuelan distressed debt in 2010s - “Investing in the inevitable” - Wins CITGO through court-ordered auction - Never appears on camera - only voice, silhouette - Symbol: The invisible hand that profits from the cycle
The Technical Architect - Works for Bechtel/Fluor in 1980s designing refineries for Venezuelan crude - 2020s: consulting on “Venezuela reconstruction” - Same person, different phase - Symbol: Infrastructure as long-term trap
The Confessor - Actual footage/quotes from “Confessions of Economic Hit Man” - Narrator explaining the pattern - Function: Legitimizes the framework, grounds fiction in documented patterns
Three Visual Layers:
Act I (1976-1999): Warm, hopeful - yellows, oranges,
Caribbean sun
Act II (1999-2019): Saturated reds, political
intensity, revolution colors
Act III (2019-2026): Desaturated, blues/grays, noir
aesthetic, trap closing
The Buggy: - Recurring motif from your “conductor vs architect” framework - Animation: Horse-drawn buggy on predetermined road - Conductor holding reins, thinking he’s steering - Architects invisible, having built the road decades ago
The Refinery: - Opening and closing image - 1986: Under construction - 2026: Under new management - Same infrastructure, different flag
The Hourglass: - Sand flowing = oil flowing = debt flowing - Visual timer throughout Act II showing trap closing
“The conductor is visible and blameable. The architects are invisible and profitable.”
Format: Mix of: 1. Stock/archive footage (public domain + creative commons) 2. Minimal live action (key dramatic scenes) 3. Motion graphics (explanatory sequences) 4. Animation (metaphorical sequences) 5. Audio drama (some scenes can be radio-play style with visuals)
Video/Animation: - DaVinci Resolve (free version) - editing, color grading - Blender (3D animation, motion graphics) - Kdenlive (backup editor) - OBS Studio (screen recording for graphics)
Graphics: - GIMP (image editing) - Inkscape (vector graphics) - Krita (digital painting)
Motion Graphics: - Blender (Grease Pencil for 2D) - Natron (compositing, After Effects alternative)
Audio: - Your DAW for music/score - Audacity (dialogue editing, sound effects) - Ardour (if you want full DAW alternative)
Writing: - Fountain format for screenplay (plain text, converts to proper format) - Obsidian or any markdown editor for development docs
Phase 1: Development (This Context) - Story structure ✓ - Character profiles - Scene breakdown - Visual bible
Phase 2: Script (Next Context) - Full screenplay in Fountain format - Scene-by-scene breakdown - Dialogue passes
Phase 3: Preproduction - Storyboards (can be simple sketches) - Shot lists for dramatic scenes - Archive footage sourcing - Music cue sheet
Phase 4: Production - Record minimal live dramatic scenes (10-15 key scenes) - Could even be done as staged readings with dramatic lighting - Or animated using Blender (character models) - Create motion graphics sequences - Compile archive footage
Phase 5: Post - Edit in DaVinci Resolve - Color grade per act - Sound design - Your music/score - Final output
Achievable Version: - 60-90 minute hybrid documentary - 10-12 key dramatized scenes (can be minimalist - talking heads, single locations) - Heavy use of motion graphics to explain complex parts - Archive footage as backbone - Your music as emotional throughline - Finished product could work as: - Festival submission (doc/experimental category) - YouTube/Vimeo release - Educational tool - Proof of concept for larger funding
Using Fountain (industry standard, plain text):
INT. CARACAS BOARDROOM - NIGHT (1986)
CARLOS MÉNDEZ (32), sharp suit, nervous energy, faces a panel of VENEZUELAN OFFICIALS and US INVESTMENT BANKERS.
CARLOS
The CITGO acquisition secures our refining capacity for 50 years.
US BANKER #1 (off-screen, subtitled)
And the financing?
CARLOS
(hesitates)
Fifteen billion. Floating rate. Twenty-year term.
Silence. A Venezuelan official lights a cigar.
OFFICIAL
The oil will pay for it.
CARLOS
If prices hold. If production maintains. If--
OFFICIAL
(cutting him off)
Sign the deal, Carlos.
Carlos stares at the contract. His hand shakes slightly.
FADE TO:
EXT. US GULF COAST REFINERY - DAY (1986)
Massive coking towers under construction. A BECHTEL ENGINEER reviews blueprints.
ENGINEER (V.O.)
Designed for sixteen-degree API crude. Venezuelan heavy.
(beat)
Nothing else will work as efficiently.
Close on blueprint: "CITGO LAKE CHARLES EXPANSION - COKER UNIT 3"
The trap is being built.Sequence 1: Nationalization & Crisis (10 min) - 1976 celebration - 1980s oil crash - Venezuelan elite debate
Sequence 2: The CITGO Deal (10 min) - US bankers arrive - Negotiation scenes - Deal signed - First debt payment
Sequence 3: Chávez Rising (10 min) - 1992 coup attempt - Prison radicalization - 1998 election - Discovery of CITGO ownership
Sequence 4: The Golden Years (12 min) - Social programs launched - Oil socialism in action - Popular support surging - Elite alarmed
Sequence 5: The Attacks Begin (12 min) - 2002 coup - Economic warfare - Chávez survives, radicalizes - Parallel: Architects positioning
Sequence 6: The Inheritance (12 min) - Chávez dies - Maduro takes power - Economic crisis begins - Debt mounting
Sequence 7: The Trap Closes (9 min) - 2019 sanctions - CITGO frozen - Social collapse - Maduro surrounded
Sequence 8: Discovering the Architecture (10 min) - Carlos in exile pieces it together - Flashbacks revealing pattern - “It was always designed this way”
Sequence 9: The Negotiation (10 min) - Secret US contact - Maduro’s calculation - Wife as bargaining chip - Chinese coordination
Sequence 10: The Extraction (10 min) - Chinese meeting - Three-minute gap - Special forces operation - Capture narrative vs reality
Sequence 11: Resolution (5 min) - CITGO auction - Maduro in custody - Carlos writing memoir - Refineries under new management - Post-credits: Chinese twist
Total Runtime: ~110 minutes
What the film reveals:
The story of Venezuela isn’t about: - Socialism vs capitalism -
Chávez being hero or villain
- Maduro being strong or weak - US being liberator or invader
It’s about: - Long-term architectural design - Profit at every stage of the cycle - Conductors who think they’re driving - Architects who remain invisible - Patterns that repeat across decades and continents
The film asks the audience: “How many other systems that look spontaneous were actually designed decades ago?”
This document contains: - Complete three-act structure - Character profiles - Scene breakdowns - Visual approach - Production strategy - Next steps
You (next Claude instance) should: 1. Read this entire document first 2. Reference it constantly during screenplay development 3. Maintain the thematic core while developing details 4. Use Fountain format for the screenplay 5. Keep production scope realistic (hybrid documentary approach) 6. Remember: Fiction based on true events = creative freedom with real patterns
The goal: Create a compelling thriller that reveals the architecture of resource extraction through the Venezuela case study, entertaining enough to engage audiences while educational enough to shift perspectives.
v1.0 - January 2026 - Initial project framework created based on research and speculation from “The Venezuelan Oil Architecture” analysis. Foundation document for screenplay development.
“Based on True Events”
Some facts have been dramatized, timelines compressed, characters composited, and speculation presented as narrative. The pattern is real. The details are cinematic.
END OF MASTER PROJECT DOCUMENT
Next file to create:
character-profiles.md Then:
scene-breakdown.md Then:
visual-style-guide.md Then: Full
screenplay in Fountain format
“The Useful Revolutionary”
Act I Ending (1999): - Takes power believing he can change the system - Discovers CITGO ownership: “They sold our sovereignty!” - Decision: Use their infrastructure against them
Act II Rising: - Social programs working, people love him - International profile rising - Surviving assassination attempts - Growing more radical, more certain - Belief: “We’re winning”
Act II Midpoint: - Oil prices high, programs expanding - Regional influence growing - Blind spot: Not seeing dependency deepening - “The oil will never run out. The revolution is permanent.”
Act II Falling: - Health declining - More paranoid (justifiably) - Starting to see the trap but too late - Final act: Doubling down on spending (can’t politically retreat)
Death (2013): - Cancer diagnosis to death: extremely rapid - Allegations of poisoning - Last words (speculation): “Maduro… be careful…” - Legacy: Deepened the trap while thinking he was escaping it
With Maduro: - Mentor/protégé - Trust but also burden - “Continue the revolution” = impossible mission
With the Venezuelan elite (Carlos): - Mutual contempt - “You sold the country” vs “You’re destroying it” - Neither wrong, both right
With the people: - Genuine love - They love him back - This is his strength and his blindness
With the architects: - Never directly interacts - Doesn’t know they exist - They watch him deepen the trap
The tragic contradiction: - Wants to help his people (genuine) - Uses CITGO revenue to fund programs (logical) - Makes the country more dependent (unintentional) - Creates conditions for eventual seizure (unknowing)
The question he never asks: “If I’m using their infrastructure, their debt, their refineries… am I really free?”
Chávez represents: - The conductor who thinks he’s driving - Resistance that serves the system - Good intentions creating bad outcomes - The utility of genuine opposition to invisible architects
Visual motifs: - Red beret (visible power, recognizable) - Microphone (always speaking, always visible) - Oil derrick (thinks he controls it) - Buggy reins (holding them, thinking he’s steering)
Early (1999-2005): - Hopeful, revolutionary rhetoric - “The people will triumph!” - References to Bolívar, Christ, liberation
Middle (2006-2010): - More confident, almost messianic - “We have defeated the empire!” - International solidarity language
Late (2011-2013): - Darker, more paranoid - “They’re trying to kill me… they might succeed…” - Hints of doubt: “The oil… we need the oil…”
What the actor needs to understand:
Chávez is NOT: - A cartoon villain - A buffoon - Purely heroic - Self-aware of his role
Chávez IS: - Genuinely charismatic (people loved him for real reasons) - Honestly trying to help his people - Tragic in the Greek sense (good intentions, fatal flaw) - Unknowingly serving the architecture through resistance
The performance should evoke: - Sympathy for his genuine care for the poor - Frustration at his blindness to the trap - Sadness at the inevitability of his failure - Recognition that he was useful BECAUSE he was genuine
“The Pragmatic Survivor”
Inheritance (2013): - Narrow election victory - Legitimacy questioned - “Chávez’s ghost is my only authority”
Struggle (2014-2018): - Economic crisis deepening - Trying Chávez’s playbook (doesn’t work) - International pressure mounting - Survival mode engaged
Isolation (2019-2024): - Sanctions hit - CITGO frozen - Surrounded by enemies: cartels, people, Russia, China, military - Realization: “I’m going to die here unless…”
The Deal (2025): - Secret negotiation - Calculation: survival > ideology - Condition: “Only if you save my wife” - Understanding: this is theater, not defeat
Extraction (2026): - Performs surrender - Relief mixed with shame - Final thought: “I’m alive. We’re alive. That’s all that matters.”
With Chávez (ghost): - Haunted by comparison - “I’m not Hugo. I never will be.” - Trying to honor memory while surviving
With Cilia: - True partnership - She’s his strategist, confidant - Her safety is his bottom line - “If you go, I go” - she insists on the deal including her
With the Venezuelan people: - Knows they hate him by 2025 - Accepts this - “They blame me. Maybe they’re right.” - But survival instinct stronger than martyrdom
With US negotiators: - Wary but desperate - “You want me out. I want to live. Let’s talk.” - Understands they need clean exit too
With cartels: - Terrified - Double-crossed them (couldn’t deliver on promises) - They want him dead - US custody = protection
The impossible choice: - Die for the revolution (heroic, pointless) - OR negotiate survival (pragmatic, “treasonous”)
His justification: “Chávez died young trying to fight the invisible enemy. What did it accomplish? They still got Venezuela. At least I’ll be alive. At least Cilia will be safe.”
The guilt: Knows history will judge him a sellout. Accepts it. Survival > legacy.
Maduro is NOT: - Heroic - Villainous - Stupid - Cowardly
Maduro IS: - Human, faced with impossible choices - Pragmatic survivor - Loving husband - Exhausted by fighting the inevitable
Performance should evoke: - Sympathy for impossible position - Understanding of survival choice - No judgment on the deal - Question to audience: “What would you do?”
“The Bargaining Chip”
Cilia represents: - The vulnerability of the conductor - The tell that reveals the deal - The price of survival
Her inclusion in the extraction proves: - This was negotiated, not captured - Maduro had leverage - US wanted clean exit enough to agree
“The Venezuelan Technocrat” (Fictional Composite)
Act I (1986-1999): - Age 32, lead negotiator for CITGO deal - Believes he’s making smart business decision - “Vertical integration secures our future” - Signs the deal - First doubt: When debt payments exceed projections
Act II (2000-2013): - Advisor to various governments - Watches Chávez deepen dependency - Opposed to Chávez politically but sees the trap - Warns about debt accumulation - Involved (reluctantly) in 2002 coup - Realization: “We’re all trapped now. Chávez, me, everyone.”
Act III (2013-2026): - Advises Maduro briefly - Flees to Madrid (2019) - Exile, writing memoir - Pieces together the architecture - Final understanding: “It was designed from the beginning. We were all conductors. The architects were invisible.”
Carlos represents: - The educated elite who thought they understood - The technician who executed the architecture without seeing it - Our guide from inside the system - The witness who finally tells the truth
“The Architect” (Fictional - based on Elliott Management)
Setting: Silhouetted figure in high-rise office
REED (V.O.): “People think this is about stealing. It’s not. It’s about architecture.
In 1986, Venezuela wanted to buy refineries. We helped them. They borrowed money. We lent it. That’s business.
They couldn’t pay back the loans. That’s risk. We bought the distressed debt. That’s investing.
The debt entitled us to collateral. That’s contract law. The courts agreed. That’s justice.
We didn’t steal CITGO. Venezuela mortgaged it. We foreclosed.
(pause)
Chávez thought he was fighting the empire. He was deepening the dependency. Every dollar of oil revenue he spent on social programs made Venezuela more reliant on CITGO revenue. When sanctions severed that revenue, collapse was inevitable.
We didn’t create the crisis. We positioned for it.
(pause)
The conductor is visible. Everyone blames him. The architect is invisible. We profit either way.
This isn’t personal. It’s structural.
The question isn’t ‘who’s the villain?’ The question is: ‘who designed the system?’
And the answer is: we all did. The architects designed it. The conductors signed it. The people accepted it.
Everyone plays their role.
(pause)
The beauty of architecture is: by the time you see it, it’s too late to escape it.”
Visual: Silhouette turns to window. Below: CITGO refinery. American flag. New management.
Composite Character - Technical Architect
Shows the infrastructure as trap
Setting: Bechtel engineering office, blueprints
ENGINEER: “These coker units are designed for sixteen-degree API crude. Venezuelan heavy.
The hydrocracking specifications assume two-point-five percent sulfur content minimum.
If you run light sweet crude through this configuration, you’ll underutilize thirty percent of the equipment.
The economics only work with Venezuelan feedstock.
This isn’t a refinery. It’s a lock. And only one key opens it.”
Visual: Blueprint closeup: “CITGO LAKE CHARLES EXPANSION - DESIGNED FOR VENEZUELAN HEAVY CRUDE”
40 years later - same engineer (or his son), same company:
“These facilities require complete reconstruction. Forty years of deferred maintenance. We estimate ten billion annually for a decade.
Fortunately, we have the original specifications.”
Visual: Same blueprint, aged. Same company logo.
THE ARCHITECTURE
|
+--------------+--------------+
| |
ARCHITECTS CONDUCTORS
(Invisible) (Visible)
| |
Elliot Reed Hugo Chávez
The Engineer |
US Bankers Nicolás Maduro
| |
+-------------+---------------+
|
WITNESSES
|
Carlos Méndez
(Evolves from
conductor to
witness of
architecture)Hugo Chávez: - Charisma above all - Ability to show genuine care - Complexity - not cartoon - Latino actor, Venezuelan accent (or excellent coach)
Nicolás Maduro: - Weariness, exhaustion - Can play pragmatism without cowardice - Chemistry with Cilia actress essential
Cilia Flores: - Strength, not victimhood - Political savvy visible - Older actress (she’s not trophy wife)
Carlos Méndez: - Can age 32-72 convincingly - Intelligence visible - Evolution from believer to witness
Elliot Reed: - Voice actor potentially - OR veteran character actor for silhouette/partial shots - Calm authority, no malice
END OF CHARACTER PROFILES
Next Document: scene-breakdown.md with
detailed scene-by-scene structure
Version: 1.0 Date: January 5, 2026 Total Estimated Scenes: 47 Total Estimated Runtime: 110 minutes Total Estimated Pages: 110 pages
Each scene includes: - Scene number & title - Location & time period - Format type (Dramatic/Archive/Motion Graphics) - Characters present - Story function - Emotional beat - Estimated page count - Key dialogue moments - Visual notes - Technical requirements
Runtime: 30 minutes | Pages: ~30 pages | Scenes: 1-14
Location: Caracas - Presidential Palace Balcony Time: 1976 Format: Archive Footage + Dramatized
Characters: - Venezuelan President (archive) - Young Carlos Méndez (32, in crowd) - Crowds celebrating
Story Function: - Opening image: Venezuela’s moment of triumph - Establishes oil nationalization as victory - Introduces Carlos as skeptical observer
Emotional Beat: Pride turning to unease
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - PRESIDENT (archive): “Today, Venezuelan oil belongs to Venezuelans!” - CARLOS (to colleague): “For now.”
Visual Notes: - Warm, hopeful colors - 1970s Caribbean aesthetic - Massive crowds, national flags - Young Carlos watching, doubt in his eyes - Oil derricks in background
Technical: Mix archive footage with recreated crowd scenes
Location: Multiple - News montage Time: 1980-1985 Format: Motion Graphics + Archive
Characters: - None (visual sequence)
Story Function: - Time passage: 1976 optimism to 1980s crisis - Oil price collapse - Economic pressure building
Emotional Beat: Hope eroding into crisis
Estimated Length: 2 pages
Key Elements: - Oil price chart plummeting - News headlines: “Venezuela Debt Crisis” - Empty treasury vaults - Anxious government meetings
Visual Notes: - Color shift: warm yellows → cooler tones - Motion graphics showing economic collapse - Fast cuts, building tension
Technical: After Effects/Blender graphics showing economic data
Location: Caracas - Ministry of Energy Boardroom Time: 1985 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Carlos Méndez (32) - Venezuelan Officials (3) - US Investment Bankers (2)
Story Function: - US bankers propose CITGO purchase - Solution presented to crisis - First hint of the trap
Emotional Beat: Desperate hope meets calculated offer
Estimated Length: 4 pages
Key Dialogue: - US BANKER: “Vertical integration. You’ll control the entire supply chain.” - CARLOS: “And the financing?” - US BANKER: “We’ll structure something very manageable.” - VENEZUELAN OFFICIAL: “This could save us.”
Visual Notes: - Mahogany boardroom, cigar smoke - Bankers in identical dark suits (faceless power) - Maps showing US Gulf Coast refineries - Carlos studying their faces
Technical: Single location, intimate dialogue scene
Location: Houston - CITGO Refinery Tour Time: 1986 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Carlos Méndez - Bechtel Engineer - US Banker #1
Story Function: - Carlos sees the refineries - Engineer explains technical lock-in - The trap revealed (but Carlos doesn’t fully see it)
Emotional Beat: Awe and unease
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - ENGINEER: “These cokers are designed for sixteen-degree API crude. Venezuelan heavy.” - CARLOS: “What if we run something else?” - ENGINEER: “Won’t work efficiently. This refinery needs your oil specifically.” - CARLOS (V.O.): “I thought that was an advantage.”
Visual Notes: - Massive industrial scale - Complex piping, coking towers - Blueprint closeups showing “Venezuelan crude” specifications - Carlos dwarfed by infrastructure
Technical: Industrial location or green screen + stock footage
Location: Caracas - Government Boardroom Time: Late 1986 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Carlos Méndez (lead negotiator) - US Bankers (3) - Venezuelan Official - Lawyers (background)
Story Function: - The deal is signed - Fifteen billion dollar debt created - Trap is set
Emotional Beat: Triumph mixed with foreboding
Estimated Length: 5 pages
Key Dialogue: - CARLOS: “Fifteen billion at floating rate… if oil prices fall—” - OFFICIAL (cutting off): “The oil will pay for it. Sign the deal, Carlos.” - US BANKER: “This secures Venezuela’s future.” - CARLOS (V.O., years later): “I thought I was signing our salvation. I was signing our surrender.”
Visual Notes: - 3 AM, exhausted negotiators - Coffee cups, ashtrays, mountains of documents - Carlos’s hand shaking as he signs - Bankers’ satisfied smiles - Slow push-in on signature
Technical: Single room, character-focused scene
Location: US Gulf Coast - CITGO Lake Charles Time: 1987-1989 Format: Motion Graphics + B-roll
Characters: - The Engineer (voiceover/brief appearance) - Construction workers (background)
Story Function: - Refineries expanded with Venezuelan debt money - Infrastructure designed as lock - Visual metaphor of trap being built
Emotional Beat: Ominous, mechanical
Estimated Length: 2 pages
Key Dialogue: - ENGINEER (V.O.): “These facilities will process Venezuelan crude for the next fifty years. They have to. Nothing else works as efficiently.”
Visual Notes: - Time-lapse construction - Blueprints transforming into steel - Close-ups: “Designed for Venezuelan Heavy Crude” - Lock and key visual metaphor
Technical: Motion graphics, stock industrial footage
Location: Caracas - Finance Ministry Time: 1987 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Carlos Méndez - Finance Minister - Economists (2)
Story Function: - First debt payment due - Amount exceeds projections - Carlos realizes the trap
Emotional Beat: Dawning horror
Estimated Length: 2 pages
Key Dialogue: - CARLOS: “The debt service is three times what they projected.” - MINISTER: “Oil prices will recover.” - CARLOS: “And if they don’t?” - MINISTER: (silence)
Visual Notes: - Carlos reviewing spreadsheets - Numbers not adding up - His face as realization hits
Technical: Simple office setting
Location: Multiple Time: 1987-1992 Format: Motion Graphics
Characters: - None (data visualization)
Story Function: - Show debt compounding - Venezuela trying to keep up payments - Dependency deepening
Emotional Beat: Trap tightening
Estimated Length: 1 page
Visual Notes: - Debt counter increasing - Oil flowing north, money flowing both ways - Graph: Debt service vs. revenue - Hourglass imagery (sand = oil = money)
Technical: Animation sequence
Location: Caracas - Presidential Palace Time: February 1992 Format: Archive Footage + Brief Dramatic
Characters: - Hugo Chávez (38, first appearance) - Military officers
Story Function: - Introduce Chávez - Coup attempt fails - Seeds of revolution planted
Emotional Beat: Defeat that contains future victory
Estimated Length: 2 pages
Key Dialogue: - CHÁVEZ (archive): “For now, we have not achieved our objectives…” - CHÁVEZ (to fellow officer): “For now.”
Visual Notes: - Archive footage of coup - Young Chávez in fatigues, red beret - Tanks in streets - People watching with mixed reactions
Technical: Mostly archive with brief recreation
Location: Yare Prison Time: 1992-1994 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Hugo Chávez - Cilia Flores (lawyer, early meeting) - Fellow prisoners (background)
Story Function: - Chávez studies, plans, radicalizes - Meets Cilia - Discovers CITGO deal details
Emotional Beat: Anger transforming into strategy
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - CILIA: “What do you want to read?” - CHÁVEZ: “Everything on the oil industry. Everything they did to us.” - CHÁVEZ (reading CITGO files): “They sold our sovereignty for debt…” - CHÁVEZ: “Next time I won’t fail.”
Visual Notes: - Prison cell, books piled everywhere - Chávez reading by dim light - Close-ups: CITGO deal documents - His eyes narrowing as he reads
Technical: Prison cell set (can be minimal)
Location: Multiple - Venezuela countryside and cities Time: 1998 Format: Archive Footage + Dramatic Montage
Characters: - Hugo Chávez (44) - Crowds - Carlos Méndez (watching news)
Story Function: - Chávez’s populist campaign - Elite alarmed (Carlos watching) - People responding to his message
Emotional Beat: Revolutionary hope vs. elite fear
Estimated Length: 2 pages
Key Dialogue: - CHÁVEZ (rally): “The oligarchs sold your future! I will take it back!” - CARLOS (watching TV): “He’s going to win.” - COLLEAGUE: “Impossible.” - CARLOS: “Watch.”
Visual Notes: - Massive rallies, red everywhere - Chávez’s charisma on display - Intercut: Carlos in expensive office watching - Color shift: warm → saturated reds
Technical: Mix archive with recreated scenes
Location: Split - Chávez HQ / Carlos’s Home Time: December 1998 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Hugo Chávez + supporters - Carlos Méndez + elite friends
Story Function: - Chávez wins presidency - Old order ending - New era beginning
Emotional Beat: Jubilation / Dread (depending on perspective)
Estimated Length: 2 pages
Key Dialogue: - TV ANNOUNCER: “Hugo Chávez is the next president of Venezuela.” - CHÁVEZ HQ: (eruption of celebration) - CARLOS (to wife): “Everything is about to change.”
Visual Notes: - Split screen showing both locations - Chávez: celebration, hope, red banners - Carlos: quiet dread, expensive home - Parallel editing showing contrast
Technical: Two locations, intercutting
Location: Caracas - Presidential Palace Time: February 1999 Format: Archive Footage + Dramatic
Characters: - Hugo Chávez (now president) - Massive crowds - Carlos (in crowd, observing)
Story Function: - Chávez takes power - Promises transformation - Carlos watches nervously
Emotional Beat: Historic moment, uncertainty
Estimated Length: 1 page
Key Dialogue: - CHÁVEZ (speech): “Today begins the Bolivarian Revolution!”
Visual Notes: - Archive footage of real inauguration - Massive crowds - Chávez taking oath - Carlos in crowd, conflicted expression
Technical: Mostly archive
Location: Presidential Palace - Late Night Time: March 1999 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Hugo Chávez (alone) - Advisor (brief)
Story Function: - Chávez discovers full extent of CITGO deal - Realizes Venezuela owns but is trapped - Makes fateful decision
Emotional Beat: Anger → Determination
Estimated Length: 4 pages (ACT I CLIMAX)
Key Dialogue: - CHÁVEZ (reading files): “We own refineries in America?” - ADVISOR: “Mortgaged. We owe more than they’re worth.” - CHÁVEZ: “They sold our sovereignty for debt?” - (Long pause, thinking) - CHÁVEZ: “Then I’ll use THEIR infrastructure for the PEOPLE. Turn their trap into our liberation.” - CARLOS (V.O., future): “That was the moment. He thought he was outsmarting them. He was deepening the trap.”
Visual Notes: - Late night, palace office - Chávez reading CITGO documents - His face: confusion → anger → calculated smile - Window view: Caracas lights below - Push in close on his determined expression
Technical: Single location, character study
ACT I TURN: Chávez decides to use CITGO revenue for social programs
Runtime: 45 minutes | Pages: ~45 pages | Scenes: 15-31
Location: Multiple - Venezuela Time: 2000-2005 Format: Montage (Archive + Dramatic)
Characters: - Hugo Chávez - Venezuelan people - Carlos (observing)
Story Function: - Social programs launch - Oil revenue funding healthcare, education, housing - Popular support surging
Emotional Beat: Genuine hope and improvement
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - CHÁVEZ (speech): “Every barrel of oil will serve the people!” - WOMAN (clinic): “Free healthcare. I never thought I’d see it.” - CARLOS (to colleague): “He’s making us dependent on CITGO revenue.”
Visual Notes: - New clinics, schools, housing - People receiving services - Chávez’s popularity soaring - Graphs: social spending UP, CITGO dependency UP
Technical: Montage sequence, multiple locations
Location: Presidential Palace / CITGO Refinery Time: 2006 Format: Dramatic Scene + Motion Graphics
Characters: - Hugo Chávez - Nicolás Maduro (first substantial appearance)
Story Function: - Chávez at peak confidence - Reviews revenue from CITGO - Expands programs further - Doesn’t see the dependency
Emotional Beat: Triumph (tragic irony for audience)
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - CHÁVEZ (reviewing reports): “CITGO revenue: eight billion this year.” - MADURO: “The programs are working, Comandante.” - CHÁVEZ: “Double the housing budget. Triple education.” - MADURO: “The oil will cover it?” - CHÁVEZ: “The oil will always cover it.”
Visual Notes: - Chávez confident, expansive - Parallel visual: CITGO refineries working 24/7 - Motion graphic: money flowing from Texas to Caracas to people - He doesn’t see: dependency deepening
Technical: Office scene + motion graphics overlay
Location: Private Meeting Room - Caracas Time: 2007 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Carlos Méndez (now 53) - Elite colleagues (3) - Chávez (brief, confrontational)
Story Function: - Carlos warns about dependency - Elite plot against Chávez begins - Chávez dismisses concerns
Emotional Beat: Frustrated warning vs. deaf ears
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - CARLOS: “We’re completely dependent on CITGO revenue now. If anything happens—” - COLLEAGUE: “Then we need to remove him.” - CARLOS: “I’m talking about the architecture, not the president.” - (Later, Carlos to Chávez) - CARLOS: “You’re deepening the trap they set.” - CHÁVEZ: “I’m using their infrastructure against them.” - CARLOS: “You’re making us dependent.” - CHÁVEZ: “You’re afraid because the people love me.”
Visual Notes: - Tense meeting, expensive setting - Carlos trying to explain complex trap - Chávez dismissive, confident - Both talking past each other
Technical: Dialogue-heavy scene
Location: New York - Hedge Fund Office Time: 2008 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Elliot Reed (silhouette/voice only) - Hedge fund analysts (2)
Story Function: - Introduce the architects - Show them buying Venezuelan distressed debt - Explain their long-game strategy
Emotional Beat: Cold calculation
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - ANALYST: “Venezuelan debt is trading at forty cents on the dollar.” - REED (silhouette): “Buy it all.” - ANALYST: “You don’t expect to be paid back?” - REED: “I’m not buying debt. I’m buying position. When they default, we take the collateral.” - ANALYST: “CITGO?” - REED: “CITGO.”
Visual Notes: - Reed never seen clearly (shadow, silhouette, back of head) - Manhattan skyline behind - Charts showing debt prices - Cold, sterile office aesthetic
Technical: Atmospheric lighting to obscure Reed’s face
Location: Split Screen - Caracas / New York Time: 2008-2010 Format: Motion Graphics
Characters: - None (visual metaphor)
Story Function: - Show parallel: Chávez spending / Architects positioning - Two different games being played - One visible, one invisible
Emotional Beat: Dramatic irony
Estimated Length: 2 pages
Visual Notes: - Split screen or intercut - LEFT: Chávez expanding programs, crowds cheering - RIGHT: Architects buying debt, court filings - Motion graphics showing: money flowing, debt accumulating, legal claims building - Two roads converging
Technical: Heavy motion graphics
Location: Presidential Palace Time: April 2002 Format: Archive Footage + Dramatic
Characters: - Hugo Chávez - Military plotters - Carlos (involved reluctantly)
Story Function: - Coup attempt against Chávez - Elite and US involvement - Chávez removed for 48 hours - Popular uprising restores him
Emotional Beat: Violence, chaos, then triumph
Estimated Length: 4 pages
Key Dialogue: - COUP LEADER: “Chávez has resigned.” - CHÁVEZ (being arrested): “I have not resigned!” - CARLOS (to plotter): “This isn’t about saving Venezuela. It’s about saving ourselves.”
Visual Notes: - Archive footage of actual coup - Helicopter removal of Chávez - Mass protests demanding his return - Carlos conflicted, watching from sidelines
Technical: Heavy archive use + brief dramatic scenes
Location: Presidential Palace Time: April 2002 (48 hours later) Format: Archive + Dramatic
Characters: - Hugo Chávez - Supporters - Military
Story Function: - Chávez restored by popular uprising - Becomes more radical - Elite plan failed
Emotional Beat: Vindication, intensification
Estimated Length: 2 pages
Key Dialogue: - CHÁVEZ (to crowd): “They tried to kill the revolution. The people said NO!” - CHÁVEZ (private, to Maduro): “No more mercy. They want war.”
Visual Notes: - Massive crowds celebrating - Chávez triumphant return - Carlos watching TV, knowing this failed - Color saturation increasing (revolutionary red)
Technical: Archive + brief dramatic
Location: Caracas Airport Time: 2003 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Carlos Méndez - Wife - Security watching
Story Function: - Carlos leaves Venezuela (temporarily) - Elite fleeing - Old order collapsing
Emotional Beat: Defeat, displacement
Estimated Length: 2 pages
Key Dialogue: - WIFE: “We can’t come back, can we?” - CARLOS: “Not while he’s in power.” - WIFE: “He’s destroying the country.” - CARLOS: “He’s destroying our country. For them, he’s building something.”
Visual Notes: - Airport, looking back at Caracas - Other elite families fleeing - Carlos’s conflicted expression - Doesn’t fully understand the architecture yet
Technical: Simple location
Location: Multiple Time: 2003-2010 Format: Montage (Archive + Motion Graphics)
Characters: - Various (news footage, crowds, officials)
Story Function: - Show ongoing economic warfare against Chávez - Oil executive strikes - International pressure - Chávez survives, radicalizes further
Emotional Beat: Escalating conflict
Estimated Length: 2 pages
Visual Notes: - Oil refineries shut down (Venezuela) - Strikes, protests - Chávez nationalizing more industries - International condemnation - Timeline accelerating
Technical: Fast-paced montage
Location: Hospital - Havana, Cuba Time: 2011-2012 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Hugo Chávez (57, ill) - Nicolás Maduro - Doctors (background)
Story Function: - Chávez diagnosed with cancer - Rapid decline - Chooses Maduro as successor
Emotional Beat: Mortality, fear, legacy
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - DOCTOR: “Stage four. Aggressive.” - CHÁVEZ (to Maduro): “How long?” - MADURO: “Don’t talk like that, Comandante.” - CHÁVEZ: “How long, Nicolás?” - MADURO: “…Months. Maybe a year.” - CHÁVEZ: “You need to continue this. For the people.” - MADURO: “I’m not you.” - CHÁVEZ: “No. But you’re loyal. That’s more important.”
Visual Notes: - Hospital room, medical equipment - Chávez visibly ill, aged beyond years - Maduro terrified of responsibility - Through window: Havana, exile even in illness
Technical: Hospital set (simple)
Location: Hospital / Presidential Palace Time: March 2013 Format: Dramatic Scene + Archive
Characters: - Hugo Chávez (dying) - Nicolás Maduro - Cilia Flores - Venezuelan people (archive)
Story Function: (ACT II MIDPOINT) - Chávez dies at 58 - Maduro inherits disaster - Nation in mourning - Allegations of poisoning
Emotional Beat: Loss, grief, transition
Estimated Length: 4 pages
Key Dialogue: - CHÁVEZ (final words): “The oil… protect the oil… don’t let them take the oil…” - MADURO (holding his hand): “I promise, Comandante.” - CILIA (to Maduro after): “He left you an impossible task.”
Visual Notes: - Death scene: quiet, somber - Cut to: massive mourning (archive) - Millions in streets - Maduro’s face: grief and terror - Parallel cut: Delaware courtroom - “Venezuela is in default on Bond Series J”
Technical: Hospital + archive footage
Location: Presidential Palace Time: April 2013 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Nicolás Maduro (53) - Cilia Flores - Cabinet members - Carlos (returns to advise)
Story Function: - Maduro narrowly wins election - Legitimacy questioned - Inherits economic disaster - Carlos returns to help
Emotional Beat: Burden, inadequacy
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - MADURO (inauguration): “I am not Hugo Chávez. I will never be Hugo Chávez. But I will continue his mission.” - CILIA (private): “The treasury is empty. The debt is massive.” - MADURO: “Get Carlos back. I need people who understand this.” - CILIA: “He’s in Miami.” - MADURO: “Offer him anything. I need to understand what we’re trapped in.”
Visual Notes: - Maduro taking oath, uncertain - Comparison to Chávez (visual callback) - Empty presidential office, overwhelming - Maduro alone at Chávez’s desk
Technical: Simple locations
Location: Presidential Palace Time: Mid-2013 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Nicolás Maduro - Carlos Méndez (59) - Cilia Flores
Story Function: - Carlos explains the trap to Maduro - Maduro realizes he’s surrounded - No good options
Emotional Beat: Crushing realization
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - CARLOS: “You’re completely dependent on CITGO revenue. Every social program runs on it.” - MADURO: “So we keep producing oil.” - CARLOS: “You’re missing fifteen billion in debt payments. Plus interest. Compounding.” - MADURO: “We’ll negotiate.” - CARLOS: “With who? Elliott Management bought your debt for pennies. They don’t want payments. They want CITGO.” - MADURO: “What do I do?” - CARLOS: “There’s nothing you CAN do. The trap was set in 1986. Hugo deepened it for fourteen years. You inherited the moment it closes.”
Visual Notes: - Carlos laying out documents - Maduro’s face as he understands - Cilia watching, grim - Visual: debt charts, CITGO ownership diagrams
Technical: Dialogue-heavy, document-focused
Location: Multiple - Venezuela Time: 2014-2018 Format: Montage (Archive + Dramatic)
Characters: - Venezuelan people - Maduro (speeches, crisis meetings)
Story Function: - Show economic collapse - Oil prices crash - Hyperinflation begins - Social programs failing - Popular support eroding
Emotional Beat: Descent into crisis
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Visual Notes: - Empty store shelves - People waiting in bread lines - Currency becoming worthless - Protests against Maduro - Chávez murals with “We miss you” graffiti - Color shift: saturated red → desaturated, darker
Technical: Montage, heavy archive use
Location: Presidential Palace Time: 2016 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Nicolás Maduro - Russian negotiators (2) - Carlos (advising)
Story Function: - Desperate, Maduro takes Russian loan - Uses CITGO as collateral AGAIN - Deepens trap further - Multiple creditors fighting over carcass
Emotional Beat: Desperation
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - RUSSIAN: “One point five billion. CITGO shares as collateral.” - CARLOS: “You can’t. Elliott already has claims.” - MADURO: “We need this money now.” - CARLOS: “You’re creating a bigger problem.” - MADURO: “The people are starving NOW. I’ll deal with later when it comes.”
Visual Notes: - Tense negotiation - Carlos horrified - Maduro desperate - Documents being signed - Visual overlay: CITGO ownership getting more complex
Technical: Single location, dialogue
Location: Presidential Palace Time: January 2019 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Nicolás Maduro - Advisors - Cilia Flores
Story Function: - US sanctions freeze CITGO access - Venezuela cannot touch their own asset - Social programs collapse overnight - Maduro completely surrounded
Emotional Beat: Trap fully closed
Estimated Length: 4 pages
Key Dialogue: - ADVISOR: “The US has frozen all CITGO accounts.” - MADURO: “We own it!” - ADVISOR: “We can’t access it. The assets are frozen.” - MADURO (screaming at phone): “WE OWN THOSE REFINERIES!” - BANKER (on phone): “Access denied under Executive Order 13850.” - (Silence) - CILIA: “What do we do?” - MADURO: “I… I don’t know.”
Visual Notes: - Maduro trying to access accounts: denied - Screen showing “ACCESS DENIED” - His face: rage turning to helplessness - Cilia watching him break - Outside: protests, chaos
Technical: Office setting, phone calls, screens
Location: Multiple - Venezuela streets Time: 2019 Format: Dramatic Montage
Characters: - Venezuelan people - Maduro (isolated in palace)
Story Function: (ACT II LOW POINT) - Social programs collapse - Hyperinflation, starvation - Mass exodus - Maduro isolated, paranoid - His enemies closing in
Emotional Beat: Absolute catastrophe
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Visual Notes: - Hospitals without medicine - Schools closing - People eating from garbage - Millions fleeing across borders - Maduro in palace, alone, watching news - Color palette: almost monochrome, bleak - Chávez’s portrait on wall behind Maduro (ghost watching)
Technical: Heavy documentary feel, real crisis footage
ACT II TURN: Maduro realizes he must negotiate or die
Runtime: 35 minutes | Pages: ~35 pages | Scenes: 32-47
Location: Madrid - Carlos’s Apartment Time: 2020 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Carlos Méndez (66, elderly) - Wife (brief)
Story Function: - Carlos fled Venezuela again - Begins researching, piecing together architecture - First glimmers of understanding
Emotional Beat: Obsessive investigation
Estimated Length: 2 pages
Key Dialogue: - WIFE: “You’ve been at this for months. Let it go.” - CARLOS: “I need to understand what happened. Thirty-five years. It can’t all have been random.”
Visual Notes: - Madrid apartment, documents everywhere - Timeline on wall: 1976-2020 - Same engineering firms appearing across decades - Carlos’s obsession visible
Technical: Simple apartment set
Location: Madrid Apartment Time: 2022-2023 Format: Dramatic Scene + Motion Graphics
Characters: - Carlos Méndez (elderly)
Story Function: - Carlos discovers the pattern - Same banks, same firms, same model - 1986 CITGO deal was architecture - Not opportunism, but design
Emotional Beat: Horrified revelation
Estimated Length: 4 pages
Key Dialogue: - CARLOS (V.O.): “1986: Bechtel designs the refineries. 2023: Bechtel wins reconstruction contract.” - “Same banks that financed the purchase. Same creditors who seized it.” - “It wasn’t Chávez. It wasn’t Maduro. It wasn’t even the debt.” - “It was the architecture. Designed forty years ago.” - “We were all conductors. Holding the reins. Thinking we were steering.” - “They built the road decades before we were born.”
Visual Notes: - Documents spreading across table - Timeline revealing pattern - Motion graphics showing connections - Carlos’s face: shock, then bitter understanding - Visual metaphor: buggy on predetermined road
Technical: Character scene + heavy motion graphics overlay
Location: Motion Graphics Sequence Time: N/A (explanatory) Format: Motion Graphics
Characters: - Carlos (V.O. narration) - John Perkins (archive audio)
Story Function: - Explain the full architecture to audience - Show Venezuela as one example of pattern - Not unique, but systematic
Emotional Beat: Educational, ominous
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - CARLOS (V.O.): “The economic hit man model. John Perkins described it.” - PERKINS (archive): “Enormous loans for infrastructure. Countries can’t repay. We take the resources.” - CARLOS (V.O.): “Venezuela 1986. But also: Guatemala 1954. Iran 1953. Chile 1973. Iraq 2003. Libya 2011.” - “The pattern repeats. The faces change. The architecture remains.”
Visual Notes: - Motion graphics showing global pattern - Map lighting up: multiple countries, same pattern - Resource extraction flows - Debt trap mechanics visualized - “The Big Short” style explainer
Technical: Pure motion graphics sequence
Location: Madrid Apartment Time: Late 2023 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Carlos Méndez (alone)
Story Function: - Carlos decides to write it down - Bear witness - Set up his role as narrator
Emotional Beat: Determined truth-telling
Estimated Length: 2 pages
Key Dialogue: - CARLOS (typing): “I signed the document that trapped Venezuela. I didn’t know what I was signing. But ignorance is not innocence.” - “This is the story they don’t want told. The story of the conductor and the architect.”
Visual Notes: - Carlos at laptop - Title appearing: “The Conductor and The Architect” - Begin manuscript - Outside: Madrid twilight
Technical: Simple, contemplative scene
Location: Presidential Palace - Caracas Time: 2024-2025 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Nicolás Maduro (64) - Cilia Flores - Trusted advisor
Story Function: - Show Maduro surrounded by enemies - Cartels, people, Russia, China, his own military - All want him dead or gone - Realization: must negotiate or die
Emotional Beat: Trapped, calculating survival
Estimated Length: 4 pages
Key Dialogue: - MADURO: “Who wants me dead?” - ADVISOR: “The cartels you double-crossed. The people you can’t feed. Russia wants their money. China wants their money. Your military is planning another coup.” - CILIA: “And the Americans?” - ADVISOR: “They want you gone. But they don’t want chaos.” - MADURO: “Then we have something to negotiate.”
Visual Notes: - Dark palace, power flickering - Maduro listing enemies on whiteboard - Cilia calculating with him - Outside: protests, chaos - They’re besieged
Technical: Tense interior scene
Location: Secret Location - Colombia border Time: Early 2025 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - US Intermediary - Maduro’s emissary - Security (background)
Story Function: - Secret negotiation begins - US wants clean exit, not prolonged conflict - Maduro wants survival
Emotional Beat: Wary negotiation
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - INTERMEDIARY: “Your position is untenable.” - EMISSARY: “Then you’ll get chaos. Cartels will take over. You’ll have another Syria.” - INTERMEDIARY: “Or we get a clean transition.” - EMISSARY: “President Maduro wants guarantees.” - INTERMEDIARY: “Tell him we’re listening.”
Visual Notes: - Secret meeting, neutral ground - Both sides wary - Recording devices obviously present - Neither trusts the other
Technical: Simple location, tense
Location: Presidential Palace Time: Mid-2025 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Nicolás Maduro - Cilia Flores - US Intermediary (via secure video)
Story Function: - US offers extraction deal - Safe custody, not prison - Intelligence sharing on cartels/Russia - Theater of “capture” for public
Emotional Beat: Temptation of survival
Estimated Length: 4 pages
Key Dialogue: - INTERMEDIARY: “Safe extraction. Comfortable custody. Protection from the cartels.” - MADURO: “In exchange for what?” - INTERMEDIARY: “You leave. Peacefully. You cooperate on intelligence regarding Russian operations and cartel networks.” - MADURO: “And my wife?” - INTERMEDIARY: “Just you.” - MADURO: “Then no deal.” - INTERMEDIARY: “President Maduro—” - MADURO: “Only if Cilia comes too. Both of us. Or I stay and you get your chaos.” - (Long pause) - INTERMEDIARY: “I’ll need to make a call.”
Visual Notes: - Video call, Maduro and Cilia side by side - His non-negotiable demand - Her hand in his - This is his line
Technical: Video call setup
Location: Presidential Palace Time: Late 2025 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Nicolás Maduro - Cilia Flores - US Intermediary (video)
Story Function: - Deal agreed - Both extracted - “Drug trafficking charges” as cover story - Proves this is negotiated, not captured
Emotional Beat: Relief mixed with shame
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - INTERMEDIARY: “Agreed. Both of you. Drug trafficking charges for cover. You’ll be in protective custody.” - CILIA: “When?” - INTERMEDIARY: “Soon. We’re coordinating with… other parties.” - MADURO: “China?” - INTERMEDIARY: (slight pause) “All relevant parties.” - MADURO: “How does it happen?” - INTERMEDIARY: “You’ll have a diplomatic meeting. Chinese delegation. They’ll leave. Three minutes later, we arrive.” - MADURO: “Theater.” - INTERMEDIARY: “For everyone’s benefit.”
Visual Notes: - Deal being struck - Maduro and Cilia’s shared glance - Survival chosen over martyrdom - No judgment in the cinematography
Technical: Video call, intimate
Location: Beijing - Ministry of Foreign Affairs Time: December 2025 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Chinese Foreign Minister - US Diplomat (shadow meeting) - Aides
Story Function: - Reveal Chinese coordination with US - Great power “competition” is theater at this level - Both coordinate for orderly transition - China wrote off Venezuelan debt
Emotional Beat: Revelation of coordination
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - CHINESE MINISTER: “We’ve written off the Venezuelan debt. Twelve billion.” - US DIPLOMAT: “Generous.” - CHINESE MINISTER: “Practical. Maduro cannot pay. But an orderly transition serves both our interests.” - US DIPLOMAT: “Your delegation will meet with him January 14th.” - CHINESE MINISTER: “And you will arrive…?” - US DIPLOMAT: “Three minutes after you leave.” - CHINESE MINISTER: “We saw nothing. We know nothing.” - US DIPLOMAT: “Understood.” - CHINESE MINISTER: “In exchange, we expect favorable terms on the new government’s oil contracts.” - US DIPLOMAT: “Already arranged.”
Visual Notes: - Sterile government building - Two “adversaries” coordinating smoothly - Maps of Venezuela on wall - Handshake (invisible to public)
Technical: Government office setting
Location: Presidential Palace - Caracas Time: January 14, 2026 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Nicolás Maduro - Cilia Flores - Chinese Diplomat - Chinese delegation (3) - Maduro’s security
Story Function: - The final meeting - Chinese deliver the message - Maduro knows what comes next - Three-minute countdown begins
Emotional Beat: Calm before storm
Estimated Length: 4 pages
Key Dialogue: - CHINESE DIPLOMAT: “President Maduro, we’ve reviewed your situation.” - MADURO: “And?” - CHINESE DIPLOMAT: “You cannot win. But there is a way to survive.” - MADURO: “You’re helping them.” - CHINESE DIPLOMAT: “We’re helping everyone transition to the inevitable.” - MADURO: “When do they come?” - CHINESE DIPLOMAT: (checks watch) “Soon.” - (Meeting ends, Chinese leave) - CILIA: “Three minutes?” - MADURO: “Three minutes.”
Visual Notes: - Formal diplomatic meeting - Chinese knowing, Maduro knowing - Everyone performing their roles - Clock ticking - Chinese delegation leaving - Maduro and Cilia alone, waiting
Technical: Single location, building tension
Location: Presidential Palace Time: January 14, 2026 (three minutes later) Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Nicolás Maduro - Cilia Flores - US Special Forces - Venezuelan security (standing down)
Story Function: (CLIMAX) - US forces arrive exactly three minutes later - Precision operation - No resistance - Maduro and Cilia extracted together - Theater of “capture” performed
Emotional Beat: Relief, resignation, survival
Estimated Length: 5 pages
Key Dialogue: - (Doors burst open) - SPECIAL FORCES: “Nicolás Maduro, Cilia Flores, you’re under arrest for drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.” - MADURO: (hands up, calm) “We’re not resisting.” - CILIA: (takes his hand) “Together?” - MADURO: “Together.” - (Led away) - MADURO (to Cilia, quietly): “We’re going to live.”
Visual Notes: - Precision military operation - Maduro and Cilia calm, knowing - Venezuelan security doing nothing - Helicopter extraction - Night flight out - Looking back at Caracas one last time - No violence, all coordination
Technical: Action sequence but controlled, not chaotic
Location: Multiple - News coverage Time: January 15, 2026 Format: Archive-style (created news footage)
Characters: - News anchors - Government spokespeople - People reacting
Story Function: - Public narrative: “Drug lord dictator captured” - Media plays its role - Cover story successful
Emotional Beat: Public theater vs. private reality
Estimated Length: 2 pages
Key Dialogue: - NEWS ANCHOR: “In a daring raid, US forces have captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on drug trafficking charges…” - US OFFICIAL: “This narco-terrorist regime has fallen.” - PERSON ON STREET: “Finally! He’s gone!”
Visual Notes: - News coverage montage - “BREAKING NEWS” graphics - Photos of Maduro as villain - Nobody questions the narrative - Intercut: Maduro watching this coverage from comfortable facility, slight smile
Technical: News broadcast recreation
Location: Delaware Courthouse Time: February 2026 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Judge - Elliott Reed’s representative - Other creditors - Lawyers
Story Function: - Court-ordered CITGO auction - Elliott Management (Amber Energy) wins - Refineries change hands legally - 40-year plan completes
Emotional Beat: Legal inevitability
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - JUDGE: “The winning bid: Amber Energy Holdings, seven point two billion dollars.” - REED’S REP: “Your honor, we’re pleased to bring these assets under new management.” - JUDGE: “So ordered. CITGO Lake Charles, Corpus Christi, and Lemont facilities are hereby transferred.” - (Gavel)
Visual Notes: - Sterile courtroom - Businesslike transaction - No drama, just contract law - Intercut: Refinery footage, American flag going up - Same facilities, new ownership
Technical: Courtroom scene
Location: Federal Facility - Undisclosed Location Time: March 2026 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Nicolás Maduro - Cilia Flores - US Debriefer
Story Function: - Show Maduro’s actual situation - Comfortable custody, not prison - Intelligence debriefing - His realization of his role
Emotional Beat: Understanding, acceptance
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - DEBRIEFER: “Tell us about the Russian operations.” - MADURO: “I’ll tell you everything. That was the deal.” - (Later, alone with Cilia) - MADURO: “I was useful to everyone. Even my resistance served their purposes.” - CILIA: “We’re alive.” - MADURO: “We’re alive.” - (Begins writing) - MADURO (V.O.): “My name is Nicolás Maduro. This is what really happened…”
Visual Notes: - Comfortable facility (not prison cell) - Windows, decent room - Maduro writing his account - Cilia safe beside him - TV showing coverage of “drug lord” narrative - They know the truth, but they’re alive
Technical: Simple interior
Location: Madrid Apartment Time: March 2026 Format: Dramatic Scene
Characters: - Carlos Méndez (72, elderly)
Story Function: - Carlos watching news of CITGO auction - Sees same firms winning reconstruction contracts - His manuscript complete - Bearing witness
Emotional Beat: Bitter vindication
Estimated Length: 3 pages
Key Dialogue: - (Watching news) - NEWS: “Bechtel Corporation has won a ten-billion-dollar contract for CITGO refinery reconstruction…” - CARLOS: “Same company that built them in 1986.” - NEWS: “…returning these strategic assets to full operational capacity…” - CARLOS (to camera/audience): “The conductor was visible and blameable. The architect was invisible and profitable.” - (Returns to manuscript) - CARLOS (typing): “This is the story they don’t want told. But I was there. I signed the documents. I watched it unfold across forty years.” - “The conductor thought he was driving. The architects built the road decades ago.”
Visual Notes: - Elderly Carlos at laptop - News on TV behind him - His manuscript: hundreds of pages - Timeline on wall showing full pattern - Direct address to camera (breaking fourth wall)
Technical: Simple apartment, powerful moment
Location: Multiple Time: 2027 Format: Final Montage + Post-Credits Scene
Characters: - Various (epilogue)
Story Function: (RESOLUTION) - Show outcome for all parties - Refineries under new management - New Venezuelan government signs oil contracts - Pattern continues - Final twist: Chinese coordination revealed
Emotional Beat: Systemic continuation
Estimated Length: 4 pages
Key Sequences:
A) CITGO Refineries - 2027: - Refineries fully operational - New management - Press conference: “100 billion reconstruction investment” - Same engineering firms - Infrastructure unchanged, just different flag
B) Caracas - New Government: - New president taking office - Pro-US orientation - Signing oil contracts
C) Beijing - Post-Credits Scene: - Chinese oil executives meeting - CHINESE EXEC 1: “Venezuela production restored. Americans paid for it.” - CHINESE EXEC 2: “We signed long-term contracts with the new government.” - CHINESE EXEC 3: “They spent the blood and treasure. We get the access.” - (Toast) - CHINESE EXEC 1: “To the conductor and the architect.” - Camera reveals: US Intermediary from earlier is in the room - Everyone coordinating at architect level - He smiles, raises glass
D) Final Image - The Buggy: - Motion graphic callback - Horse-drawn buggy on predetermined road - Conductor holding reins proudly - Camera pulls back revealing: architects built the entire road - Conductor never had choice of direction - Architects remain invisible
E) Final Title Cards:
"Based on true events."
"The CITGO auction occurred in January 2026."
"Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores remain in US custody."
"Elliott Management's Amber Energy won the auction."
"The same engineering firms that built the refineries in the 1980s
won reconstruction contracts in 2026."
"Some details have been dramatized.
The pattern is real."
"The conductor is visible.
The architect is invisible."Visual Notes: - Montage of resolution - Pattern continuing - No happy ending, just continuation - Final image: new conductor on same road - Fade to black
Technical: Montage + final motion graphics
FADE OUT.
END OF SCENE BREAKDOWN
This document should be used in conjunction with: - PROJECT_MASTER.md (overall structure) - character-profiles.md (character voices) - visual-style-guide.md (visual approach) - FOUNTAIN-FORMAT-GUIDE.md (screenplay formatting)
Next Step: Begin screenplay in Fountain format using this breakdown as structure.
Format: Fountain | Version: 1.0 | Date: January 6, 2026
Version: 1.0 Date: January 6, 2026 Purpose: Unified visual language across all production elements
1. THE PAST (Archive) - Historical reality grounds the story - Real footage validates the pattern - Black and white or period color - Imperfect, grainy, authentic
2. THE PRESENT (Dramatic Scenes) - Naturalistic but cinematic - Documentary aesthetic with purpose - Handheld intimacy, controlled composition - Characters as humans, not symbols
3. THE ARCHITECTURE (Motion Graphics) - Cold, mechanical, precise - Reveals invisible systems - Infographic meets noir thriller - Pattern made visible
“Show the architecture emerging from reality”
The visual language should reveal how invisible design shapes visible events. We start warm and hopeful, descend into revolutionary intensity, and end in cold, mechanical inevitability.
Camera Movement: - Mostly locked-off tripod or slow dolly - Suggesting stability about to be lost - Purposeful, not showy - Corporate/formal feeling
Shot Composition: - Wide masters establishing locations - Medium shots for negotiations - Close-ups for document signing, doubt - Symmetrical framing = order (soon to be disrupted)
Lens Choice: - 35mm-50mm range (natural perspective) - Minimal wide-angle distortion - Suggesting “normal” world
Depth of Field: - Moderate to deep - Keep backgrounds in focus - Show the system around characters
Integration Method: - Match color temperature to dramatic scenes - Slight grain overlay on dramatic to match archive - Seamless transitions between real and recreated
Enhancement: - AI upscaling for low-res footage - Subtle stabilization (maintain documentary feel) - Color correction to match palette
Visual Language: - Clean lines becoming complex - Simple diagrams becoming traps - Hopeful infographics revealing danger
Color Scheme: - Start with warm yellows/oranges - Transition to colder analytical blues - By end of Act I: red warning signs appearing
Animation Style: - Smooth, professional - Like corporate presentation - Until it reveals the trap underneath
Typography: - Clean sans-serif (Helvetica, Futura) - Professional, trustworthy - Numbers and data prominent
Key Sequences: 1. CITGO Deal Structure (Scene 6) - Money flow diagrams - Debt structure revealed - “The Big Short” style explainer
Mood: Hopeful, national pride - High-key lighting - Soft shadows - Natural sunlight dominant - Warm practicals (tungsten bulbs) - Golden hour exterior work
Mood: Corporate, professional, underlying tension - Fluorescent office lighting - Cooler color temperature - Harder shadows beginning - Overhead lighting creating facial shadows - Night work = anxiety
Mood: Doubt, transition - Mixed lighting sources (natural + artificial) - Longer shadows - Increasing contrast - Dusk/twilight feeling - Uncertainty in exposure
Mood: Revolutionary change incoming - First use of red accent lighting - High contrast - Dramatic shadows - Stage lighting for rallies - Transition to Act II intensity
Camera Movement: - Handheld for protest/action scenes - Steadicam for presidential movements - Locked tripod for ominous architect scenes - More dynamic than Act I (reflecting upheaval)
Shot Composition: - Asymmetrical framing (order disrupted) - Dutch angles for paranoia sequences - Crowd shots: individuals in masses - Close-ups: sweat, intensity, fear
Lens Choice: - Wider lenses (24mm-35mm) for crowd energy - Telephoto (85mm-135mm) compressed backgrounds for isolation - Varying focal lengths = instability
Depth of Field: - Shallower than Act I - Isolate subjects from chaos - Rack focus to show shifting power
2002 Coup Footage: - Raw, unprocessed - Keep authentic chaos - News broadcast aesthetic - VHS degradation if appropriate
Chávez Speeches: - Real archive primary - Match lighting for recreations - TV broadcast look for media sequences
Visual Language: - More complex than Act I - Multiple layers, competing forces - Flowcharts becoming ominous - Data showing trap closing
Color Scheme: - Dominant reds and blacks - White for clarity/explanation - Yellow for warning signs - Blue for architect activities (parallel track)
Animation Style: - More aggressive than Act I - Quick cuts, urgency - Split screens showing parallel actions - Countdown timers (debt, sanctions)
Typography: - Bold, urgent - Headlines, news tickers - Economic data scrolling - Debt counters prominent
Key Sequences: 1. Oil Socialism Explained (Scene 15) - Revenue flows from CITGO to programs - Dependency visualized - Social impact shown
Mood: Revolutionary optimism, intensity - High contrast lighting - Strong key lights - Red gels for rallies - Practical sources (flags, fires) - Bright daylight exteriors
Mood: Maximum confidence, maximum intensity - Saturated color lighting - Stage/theatrical lighting for speeches - Strong backlighting (heroic) - Warm practicals in intimate scenes - High-key for optimism, low-key for opposition
Mood: Illness, paranoia, ending - Desaturating lighting - Cooler temperatures entering - Hospital fluorescents (green-blue cast) - Longer shadows - Chiaroscuro (light/dark battles)
Mood: Burden, pressure, collapse - Increasingly dark - Harsh overhead lighting (interrogation feel) - Fluorescent greens and blues - Shadows dominating - Very little warm light by 2019
Mood: Trap closed, desperation - Almost monochrome - Grays entering heavily - Minimal color saturation - Transition to Act III aesthetic - Cold, institutional lighting
Camera Movement: - Deliberate, precise - Slow push-ins (inevitability) - Locked-off for negotiations - Smooth gimbal for extraction (military precision) - Handheld only for Carlos (humanity)
Shot Composition: - Wide shots showing isolation - Characters in large, empty spaces - Symmetrical framing returns (order restored, but cold) - Negative space (emptiness, inevitability) - Frame within frame (trapped)
Lens Choice: - 50mm for neutrality - Wide angle (24mm) for institutional spaces - Telephoto (100mm+) for compression, surveillance feel - Macro for documents, details
Depth of Field: - Deep focus for architecture/systems - Shallow for human moments (Carlos) - Rack focus: present to past (flashbacks)
News Coverage (2026): - Contemporary HD footage - TV graphics overlay - Breaking news aesthetic - Split screens, talking heads
Extraction Coverage: - Night vision green - Thermal imaging - Drone footage aesthetic - Body camera POV
Visual Language: - Precise, technical - Blueprint aesthetic - Connections made visible - 40-year pattern shown clearly
Color Scheme: - Monochrome base (black, white, gray) - Blue for technical diagrams - Red for connections/revelations - Amber for timeline (warmth of human understanding)
Animation Style: - Slow, deliberate reveals - Connections drawing themselves - Timeline expanding across decades - “Aha” moment visualizations
Typography: - Technical, precise - Timeline dates prominent - Company names, same firms appearing - “1986… 2026” repetition
Key Sequences: 1. Carlos’s Discovery (Scene 33) - Documents connecting across decades - Same firms, same pattern - Timeline visualization - Web of connections
Mood: Isolation, investigation, revelation - Warm desk lamp (amber 2700K) - Cool window light (daylight 5500K) - Contrast: human warmth vs cold truth - Documents illuminated, face in shadow - Rembrandt lighting for portraits
Mood: Besieged, desperate, calculating - Harsh overhead fluorescents - Flickering power (instability) - Strong shadows (paranoia) - Single practicals (isolation) - Dark corners (threat unseen)
Mood: Cold calculation, business transaction - Neutral office lighting (4500K) - Even, flat lighting (no emotion) - Video call screens as light source - Faces illuminated by monitors - Corporate sterility
Mood: Sterile, governmental, coordinated - Cool fluorescents (5000K+) - Institutional lighting - No shadows (transparency at this level) - Conference room blandness
Mood: Military precision, inevitability - Night vision green (practical effect) - Helicopter searchlights - Tactical flashlights (hard shadows) - Moonlight (blue, cold) - Precision and violence
Mood: Legal inevitability, completion - Daylight through windows (neutral) - Fluorescent courtroom lighting - Industrial refinery lighting - American flag in sun (new order) - Cold, professional, complete
Mood: The architecture continues - Return to warm amber (Carlos) - Cold institutional (Beijing meeting) - Contrast showing layers - Same patterns, different faces
Appearances: - Act I finale (Chávez making decision) - Act II midpoint (trap deepening) - Act III revelation (road was always predetermined)
Visual Evolution: - First appearance: Simple, clear - Second: Conductor confident, road becoming visible - Third: Full reveal of architects building road
Style: - 2D animation, simple but effective - Warm colors for conductor - Cool blue/gray for architects and road - Gradually revealing layers
Appearances: - Throughout Act II - Visual timer showing trap closing
Visual Treatment: - Sand = oil = money = time - Flowing continuously - By end of Act II: nearly empty - Act III: overturned (time’s up)
Opening and closing image: - 1986: Under construction (warm, hopeful) - Throughout: Working, producing - 2019: Frozen (sanctions) - 2026: New management (cold, complete)
Visual Consistency: - Same facility, same angles - Different flags, different context - Architecture unchanged, ownership changed
Visual Treatment: - Always bright white paper - Extreme close-ups on signatures - Dates prominent - Coffee stains, aging across time - Same contract templates across decades
Recurring shot: - Carlos watching (Act I, II, III) - Architects watching (shadowed) - People watching (TV screens, rallies)
Visual Pattern: - Conductors: clear, visible, light on face - Architects: shadow, silhouette, backlit - People: crowds, masses, individuals lost
Match-cutting: - Cut from archive to recreation on action - Seamless integration via movement - Color match critical
Grain Matching: - Add film grain to digital footage - Match archive quality level - Unified texture across formats
Aspect Ratio: - Archive: original aspect (4:3 for older, 16:9 for newer) - Dramatic: 2.39:1 (widescreen cinematic) - Graphics: 16:9 (modern, clear) - Letterbox archive when needed, or creative framing
Explainer Sequences: - Clear, simple visuals - Build complexity gradually - “Aha!” moment structure - Reveal, don’t obscure
Data Visualization: - Line graphs for trends - Bar charts for comparisons - Flow diagrams for money/oil - Timelines for pattern revelation
Typography Animation: - Text as visual element - Numbers counting (debt, years) - Headlines appearing - Dates connecting across time
Primary: Blender (Grease Pencil for 2D, 3D for spaces) Secondary: Inkscape for vector elements Compositing: DaVinci Resolve Fusion
Acquisition: 4K (future-proofing) Archive: Variable (upscale as needed) Delivery: 4K master, 1080p distribution
Primary Correction: - Lift shadows slightly (optimism) - Warm highlights (+2700K) - Reduce contrast (softness)
Secondary Correction: - Boost yellows and oranges - Gentle skin tone warmth - Sky blues saturated
LUT: Film emulation (Kodak warmth)
Primary Correction: - Crush blacks (contrast) - Increase saturation (+20-30%) - Warm to hot (2800K)
Secondary Correction: - Reds VERY saturated - Skin tones intense but not unnatural - Blacks to deep blue-black
LUT: High contrast, saturated
Primary Correction: - Cool highlights (+5500K) - Reduce saturation (-20-30%) - Increase contrast (harsh)
Secondary Correction: - Blues dominant - Grays to blue-gray - Skin tones neutral to cool
LUT: Bleach bypass / desaturated look
By the end of the film, the three visual worlds converge:
Final image: Carlos at laptop (warm light, humanity) revealing architecture (cold graphics) that shaped history (archive footage).
Color: Warm amber (human truth-telling) illuminating cold blue (systemic reality).
Message: Individual voice can reveal invisible architecture, even if it cannot change it.
When shooting/creating any scene, ask:
Note: These boards will be created during Phase 3.5 (Production Guides) after screenplay completion, using this guide as foundation.
END OF VISUAL STYLE GUIDE
Version: 1.0 Status: Complete foundation, ready for production application Next Steps: Use this guide during screenplay development, refine during Phase 3.5
Cross-Reference: - scene-breakdown.md (scene-specific visual notes) - character-profiles.md (character visual descriptions) - PROJECT_MASTER.md (thematic visual connections)
“The conductor is visible. The architect is invisible. The cinematography must reveal both.”
Version: 1.0 Date: January 6, 2026 Purpose: Comprehensive factual foundation for screenplay and production
“Based on True Events”
This document compiles: - Verified historical facts (dates, public events, legal proceedings) - Technical realities (oil chemistry, refinery economics) - Speculative elements (private negotiations, motivations, coordination) - Composite characters (Carlos Méndez represents multiple figures)
Where speculation begins: - Private conversations and motivations - Alleged coordination between powers - Specific negotiation details (2025-2026) - Chávez’s cancer causation theories
The pattern is real. Some details are cinematic interpretation.
January 1, 1976 - Venezuela nationalizes oil industry - Creates Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) - Government takes control of all oil operations - Foreign companies compensated and exit - National celebration: “Venezuelan oil for Venezuelans”
Context: - Global trend of resource nationalization - Venezuelan oil production: ~2.3 million barrels/day - Oil prices: ~$12/barrel (1976) - Reserves: Largest proven oil reserves outside Middle East
Significance: - Moment of national pride and sovereignty - Sets stage for later dependency trap - Government now responsible for entire industry
1980-1982: Oil Boom - Oil prices peak at $35-40/barrel - Venezuelan economy surges - Government spending increases dramatically - Infrastructure projects across country
1982: Latin American Debt Crisis - Mexico defaults on debt (August 1982) - Regional financial crisis begins - Venezuela heavily exposed - Capital flight from Latin America
1983-1985: Venezuelan Crisis - Oil prices collapse to ~$25/barrel - Venezuelan bolivar devalued (February 1983) - “Black Friday” (viernes negro): - Bolivar loses 40% value overnight - Capital controls imposed - Economic crisis deepens - National debt growing - Need for foreign investment urgent
Economic Data (1985): - Venezuelan debt: ~$35 billion - Debt service consuming 40% of export revenues - Oil revenue: 90% of export earnings - Refining capacity: Limited domestically
Background: - CITGO Petroleum Corporation founded 1910 - Originally: Cities Service Company - 1983: Acquired by Occidental Petroleum - Venezuela exploring acquisition
The Transaction:
Date: 1986 (deal structured over several months)
Asset: - CITGO Petroleum Corporation - Three major refineries: 1. Lake Charles, Louisiana (capacity: 425,000 bpd) 2. Corpus Christi, Texas (capacity: 157,000 bpd) 3. Lemont, Illinois (capacity: 167,500 bpd) - Total capacity: ~750,000 barrels per day - Plus: Distribution network, gas stations, brand
Purchase Price: - 50% stake: ~$290 million (1986) - Remaining 50%: acquired over following years - Total investment by 1990: ~$1 billion+
Financing Structure: - International bank consortium - Floating rate loans - Estimated total debt: $15 billion+ over time - Collateral: The refineries themselves - Terms: 20-30 year repayment
Why Venezuela Wanted It: - “Vertical integration” strategy - Control entire supply chain (extraction to retail) - Guaranteed market for heavy crude - Bypass middlemen - Economic nationalism goal
The Technical Lock-In: - Refineries specifically configured for Venezuelan heavy crude - Coking and hydrocracking units designed for: - 16-degree API gravity crude (Venezuelan heavy) - 2.5%+ sulfur content - Expensive to reconfigure for other crude - Venezuela’s crude is perfect fit - Other crude sources less profitable in these facilities
Key Firms Involved: - Bechtel Corporation - Engineering and construction - Fluor Corporation - Engineering services - International banks - Financing consortium - Law firms - Deal structuring
Infrastructure Build-Out: - Coker units expanded (Lake Charles) - Hydrocracking capacity increased - Designed specifically for Venezuelan crude specifications - Investment: Billions in facility upgrades - Financed through additional Venezuelan debt
Technical Details: - Coking units process heavy residual oil - Convert low-value heavy crude to higher-value products - Capital-intensive equipment - 30-40 year equipment lifespan - Creates infrastructure dependency
Result: - Venezuela owns state-of-the-art refineries - But: Massive debt burden - And: Refineries need Venezuelan crude specifically - Lock-in complete
1989: Caracazo - Riots in Caracas (February 27-28) - IMF austerity measures trigger protests - Estimated 300-3,000 deaths - Military crackdown - Political system delegitimized
1992: Coup Attempts
February 4, 1992: - Hugo Chávez leads military coup - Targets presidential palace - Coup fails, Chávez arrested - Famous TV appearance: “For now” (por ahora) - Chávez becomes national figure
November 27, 1992: - Second coup attempt (Chávez in prison) - Also fails - Political instability severe
1994: Chávez Released - President pardons conspirators - Chávez begins political organizing - Reading extensively in prison - Studying Bolívar, economics, oil industry
1994: Banking Crisis - Venezuelan banks collapse - Government bailout costs 20% of GDP - Economic crisis deepens
1998: Presidential Election - Chávez runs populist campaign - “Against oligarchs and corruption” - Promises to use oil wealth for people - Wins decisively: 56% of vote - December 6, 1998 election - Inaugurated February 2, 1999
Oil & Debt Status (1998): - Oil prices: ~$12/barrel (very low) - Venezuelan debt: $35-40 billion - CITGO debt service: Consuming significant revenue - Social spending: Minimal under previous governments
1999: Constitutional Reform - New constitution approved - Extends presidential powers - Renames country “Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela” - Chávez consolidates power
1999: CITGO Discovery - Chávez reviews Venezuela’s assets - Discovers full extent of CITGO ownership and debt - Realizes: Venezuela owns refineries but massive debt - Decision: Use CITGO revenue for social programs - “Turn their infrastructure into our revolution”
2000-2004: Bolivarian Missions Launch
Misión Robinson (literacy): - Goal: Eliminate illiteracy - Free education programs - Funded by oil/CITGO revenue
Misión Barrio Adentro (healthcare): - Free clinics in poor neighborhoods - Cuban doctors brought in - Primary care expansion - Funded by oil revenue
Misión Vivienda (housing): - Subsidized housing construction - For poor Venezuelans - Funded by oil revenue
Economic Model: - Oil revenue → CITGO operations → Cash to Venezuela - Cash → Social programs - Programs → Popular support - Support → Political power - Deepening dependency on CITGO
Oil Prices Rising: - 2000: $28/barrel - 2003: $31/barrel - 2004: $41/barrel - 2005: $56/barrel - Rising prices fund expansion
CITGO Operations (2000-2005): - Revenue to Venezuela: $5-8 billion annually - Refineries running at capacity - Venezuelan crude guaranteed market - Debt payments: Ongoing but manageable with high prices
April 11-13, 2002:
Day 1 (April 11): - Opposition march to presidential palace - Violence erupts, deaths reported - Military officers demand Chávez resignation
Day 2 (April 12): - Chávez allegedly resigns - Pedro Carmona sworn in as president - Dissolves National Assembly - Elite celebration premature
Day 3 (April 13): - Mass protests demanding Chávez return - Poor Venezuelans flood streets - Loyalist military units rebel - Chávez restored to power
Aftermath: - Chávez more radical - Distrust of elite total - Accelerates social programs - International tensions increase - US involvement alleged (never proven)
Economic Impact: - Oil industry strike (December 2002) - PDVSA executives walk out - Production plummets - Chávez fires ~19,000 PDVSA employees - Replaces with loyalists (less experienced) - Long-term production impact
Surging Oil Prices: - 2006: $66/barrel (average) - 2007: $72/barrel - 2008: $100/barrel peak - Venezuelan revenue massive
Social Program Expansion: - Missions expanded to millions - Free food programs (MERCAL) - Education programs to university level - Healthcare expansion - Dependency on oil revenue total
International Posture: - Chávez criticizes US imperialism - Allies with Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua - Proposes alternative to US influence - Regional integration efforts (ALBA)
CITGO Status: - Critical to entire model - Revenue: $8-10 billion+ annually - Refinery operations stable - US government uneasy about Venezuelan ownership
Global Financial Crisis (2008): - Credit markets freeze - Venezuelan bonds downgraded - Default risk increases
Distressed Debt Market: - Venezuelan bonds trading at discount - Hedge funds buying debt cheaply - Strategy: Position for eventual seizure - Elliott Management among buyers - Paul Singer’s firm specializes in sovereign debt
Legal Groundwork: - Multiple creditors file claims - US courts become venue - Venezuelan assets potentially seizable - CITGO exposed as collateral
Venezuela’s Response: - Continues spending oil revenue - Ignores debt accumulation - Chávez focused on programs, not balance sheets - Finance ministers warn (ignored)
June 2011: Cancer Diagnosis - Chávez announces cancer - Type: Pelvic tumor (specifics never fully disclosed) - Treatment in Cuba - Multiple surgeries
2011-2012: Treatment & Decline - Repeated trips to Cuba - Prolonged absences - Health clearly deteriorating - Continues governing remotely
October 2012: Re-elected - Wins fourth term despite illness - Defeats Henrique Capriles - 55% to 44% vote - Last campaign
February 2013: Last Public Appearance - Returns from Cuba - Clearly very ill - Nation prepares for worst
March 5, 2013: Death - Dies in Caracas military hospital - Age 58 - Official cause: Cancer - Allegations: Poisoning (never proven) - Maduro’s claims: US/opposition involved (no evidence)
National Mourning: - Massive funeral - Millions in streets - Genuine grief widespread - International leaders attend
Conspiracy Theories: - Rapid progression (suspicious to some) - Treatment in Cuba (questions about care quality) - Maduro’s poisoning allegations - No conclusive evidence either way - Remains controversial
Economic Status at Death: - Oil prices still high (~$100/barrel) - But: Production declining - PDVSA expertise depleted (2002 firings) - Infrastructure degrading - Debt mounting - CITGO still generating revenue
April 2013: Special Election - Nicolás Maduro (Chávez’s VP) runs - Henrique Capriles (opposition) runs - Result: Maduro wins narrowly - 50.6% to 49.1% - Opposition claims fraud - Legitimacy questioned
Maduro’s Background: - Former bus driver, union leader - Chávez loyalist, not charismatic - Married to Cilia Flores (powerful attorney) - Foreign minister under Chávez - Lacks Chávez’s political skills
Immediate Challenges: - Narrow mandate - Economic crisis brewing - Oil prices beginning to soften - Debt payments mounting - Opposition energized - No Chávez charisma to hold coalition
February 2014: Protests Begin - Student protests in Caracas - Government crackdown - Escalates to nationwide - Deaths reported - International condemnation
Oil Price Collapse Begins: - June 2014: $112/barrel - December 2014: $59/barrel - 50% drop in 6 months - Venezuelan revenue crashes
Economic Indicators Deteriorating: - Inflation rising - Currency black market exploding - Shortages of basic goods - CITGO revenue declining with prices
Debt Crisis: - Payments becoming difficult - Creditors circling - Default risk surging - Elliott and others preparing legal action
2015: Humanitarian Crisis Emerges - Food shortages severe - Medicine unavailable - Hospitals collapsing - People losing weight (avg 19 lbs in 2016) - Exodus begins
December 2015: Opposition Wins Legislature - Maduro loses National Assembly - Opposition supermajority - Government vs legislature conflict - Maduro bypasses legislature
2016: Rosneft Loan
Deal Details: - Russia’s Rosneft provides $1.5 billion loan - Collateral: 49.9% of CITGO shares - Adds to already complex ownership - Multiple creditors now claiming CITGO - Creates competing claims
Oil Production Falling: - 2016: ~2.4 million bpd (down from 3.0 in 2000s) - Equipment failures increasing - Expertise shortage chronic - Investment needed but no capital
2017: Constitutional Assembly - Maduro creates new “super assembly” - Bypasses opposition-controlled legislature - Basically a coup against own constitution - International condemnation - US sanctions begin
August 2017: US Sanctions Begin - Trump administration targets Venezuelan debt - Restricts US entities from Venezuelan bonds - Targets Maduro personally - Beginning of financial siege
Hyperinflation Begins: - 2017: 1,087% inflation - 2018: 130,060% inflation (estimated) - Currency worthless - Savings evaporated - Economic collapse total
Migration Crisis: - 2015-2018: ~3 million Venezuelans flee - Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile - Largest migration in Latin American history - Families separated - Refugee crisis
January 10, 2019: Maduro Sworn In (Disputed) - Second term begins - Opposition and many countries refuse recognition - Calls election illegitimate
January 23, 2019: Guaidó Declares Interim Presidency - Juan Guaidó (National Assembly president) declares himself acting president - US recognizes Guaidó - ~60 countries recognize Guaidó - Maduro still controls military - Venezuela has two “presidents”
January 28, 2019: CITGO SANCTIONS
Executive Order 13850: - US freezes Venezuelan government’s CITGO assets - Venezuela can no longer access CITGO revenue - Control transferred to Guaidó’s “interim government” - Maduro blocked from asset he needs most
Impact: - Social programs collapse overnight - No revenue from US operations - Debt defaults accelerate - Maduro’s financial lifeline cut
Humanitarian Catastrophe (2019): - 96% in poverty - Hyperinflation continues - Healthcare system destroyed - Education system collapsed - Starvation reported - 4-5 million have fled by year end
Maduro’s Position (End 2019): - Internationally isolated - Financially strangled - Population suffering - But: Military still loyal (for now) - Cartels gaining power - Owing money to: Russia, China, creditors - Surrounded by enemies
Multiple Threats:
1. Cartels: - Maduro made deals during crisis - Allowed drug trafficking for survival - Now: Cartels demand more - Double-cross = death threat
2. Internal Opposition: - Military plotting coups - People starving, angry - Protests continue despite repression
3. International Creditors: - Russia wants money - China wants money - Elliott Management preparing CITGO seizure - Multiple court cases proceeding
4. Guaidó “Government”: - Controls CITGO (US-recognized) - International support - Pressure continues
Maduro’s Resources: - Loyal military units (for now) - Support from Russia, China, Cuba (waning) - Control of government apparatus - But: Isolated, broke, hated
US Position: - Wants Maduro gone - But: Doesn’t want chaos - Cartels would fill vacuum - Migration would surge - Prefer negotiated transition
Note: This section is speculative/dramatized for film
Late 2024: Backchannel Opens - US intermediary contacts Maduro - Informal, deniable - Message: “There’s a way out”
Maduro’s Calculation: - Stay = probable death (cartels, coup, or people) - Fight = lose eventually anyway - Negotiate = survive
The Offer: - Safe extraction from Venezuela - Protective custody (not prison) - “Drug trafficking charges” as cover story - Intelligence sharing on cartels/Russia/China - Clean exit for US (avoids chaos)
Maduro’s Condition: - “My wife comes too” - Cilia Flores must be included - This is non-negotiable - Her inclusion proves negotiation (not capture)
US Agrees: - Both extracted - Both face charges (cover story) - Both in protective custody - Intelligence debriefing
Chinese Coordination (Speculative): - China wrote off Venezuelan debt (~$12 billion) - Coordinates with US on extraction - Gets long-term oil contracts with new government - “Adversaries” coordinate at architect level
Date Set: - January 14, 2026 - Chinese diplomatic visit as cover - 3 minutes after Chinese leave: US arrives - Precision timing
Chinese Meeting: - Delegation meets Maduro - Formal diplomatic conversation - Subject: “Venezuela’s future” - Meeting ends - Chinese depart
Three Minutes Later: - US Special Forces arrive - Precision operation - Venezuelan security stands down (prearranged) - No resistance - Maduro and Cilia extracted together
Official Narrative: - “Daring raid” - “Narco-terrorist dictator captured” - “Drug trafficking charges” - Media repeats narrative - Public believes capture story
Reality: - Negotiated extraction - Theater for public consumption - Both sides benefit from “capture” story - Maduro survives - US gets clean transition - China gets oil deals
Cilia’s Inclusion Proves It: - If real raid: She’d escape or be left - Her extraction proves negotiation - Both facing charges proves coordination - Cover story for both
Court-Ordered Auction:
Background: - Multiple creditors filed claims - US courts sided with creditors - CITGO ordered to auction - Venezuela defaulted on billions
Auction (Delaware Court): - Date: February 2026 - Winning bid: Amber Energy Holdings (Elliott Management subsidiary) - Amount: $7.2 billion - Covers partial creditor claims
Other Bidders: - Various energy companies - Other hedge funds - Elliott wins
Legal Completion: - Judge approves sale - CITGO ownership transfers - 40-year cycle completes: - 1986: Venezuela borrows to buy CITGO - 2026: Creditors seize CITGO for debt
The Architecture Complete: - Same engineering firms (Bechtel) that built refineries in 1980s - Win “reconstruction contracts” in 2026 - $100 billion announced for facility upgrades - Same firms, same facilities, 40 years later - Venezuela paid for infrastructure - US entities now own it
Maduro & Cilia Status: - In federal protective custody - Location undisclosed - “Drug trafficking charges” pending - Actually: Intelligence debriefing - Providing info on: - Russian operations in Venezuela - Chinese oil deals - Cartel networks - Cuban intelligence
Venezuela Status: - Interim government forming - Pro-US orientation - New oil contracts being negotiated - CITGO gone permanently - Social programs collapsed - Country in ruins
CITGO Operations: - Refineries continue operating - Now under US ownership - Same crude sources needed - New contracts with new Venezuelan government - Infrastructure unchanged, ownership changed
Carlos Méndez (Fictional): - In Madrid, writing memoir - Piecing together 40-year pattern - Publishing “The Conductor and the Architect”
Chinese Oil Executives: - Meeting in Shanghai - Reviewing Venezuela situation
Dialogue (Speculative): - “Venezuela oil production restored” - “Americans paid for refinery reconstruction” - “We have 30-year oil contracts with new government” - “They spent blood and treasure, we get the resources”
The Architecture Level: - Great power “competition” is theater - At highest levels: Coordination - Different interests, shared benefits - Venezuela: Resource to be managed - People: Irrelevant to architecture
Present: US Intermediary - The man who negotiated Maduro extraction - In Beijing meeting - Everyone coordinating - Architects remain invisible - Conductors (presidents, governments) are visible
Heavy Crude Properties:
API Gravity: - Venezuelan Crude: 12-16 degrees API - “Heavy” classification: Below 22 degrees - Light crude (comparison): 35+ degrees API - Lower API = heavier, thicker oil
What API Gravity Means: - Density measurement - Lower number = denser, heavier - Heavy crude: More difficult to extract - More difficult to transport - Requires specialized refining
Sulfur Content: - Venezuelan crude: 2.0-2.5% sulfur - “Sour crude” classification - Requires desulfurization - Adds refining complexity and cost
Viscosity: - Very thick at room temperature - Requires heating to transport - Pipeline challenges - Expensive to handle
Refining Challenge: - Heavy crude has more: - Heavy molecules - Sulfur compounds - Metals (vanadium, nickel) - Asphalt components
Standard Refineries: - Designed for light sweet crude - Cannot efficiently process heavy crude - Would produce mostly low-value products - Uneconomical
Specialized Equipment Needed:
1. Coking Units: - Break down heaviest molecules - Thermal cracking process - Convert bottom-of-barrel to lighter products - Capital intensive: $1-2 billion per unit - CITGO refineries have multiple coker units
2. Hydrocracking: - Uses hydrogen and catalysts - Further breaks down heavy molecules - Removes sulfur - Very expensive process - CITGO refineries specifically configured
3. Hydrotreating: - Removes sulfur, nitrogen, metals - Required for heavy sour crude - Multiple stages needed - CITGO has extensive hydrotreating capacity
The Lock-In: - Once refinery is built for heavy crude - Cannot easily switch to other crude - Equipment is optimized for specific properties - Running light crude = underutilization - Economics only work with heavy crude - Venezuela’s crude is perfect match - Other sources = profit loss
Lake Charles, Louisiana: - Capacity: 425,000 barrels per day - Largest US refinery on Gulf Coast (at acquisition) - Coking capacity: Extensive - Designed specifically for Venezuelan heavy crude - Products: Gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, petrochemicals
Corpus Christi, Texas: - Capacity: 157,000 bpd - Two refineries (East and West plants) - Coking and hydrocracking units - Optimized for heavy crude
Lemont, Illinois: - Capacity: 167,500 bpd - Serves Midwest market - Specialized equipment for heavy crude - Strategic location for distribution
Total Processing: - Combined: ~750,000 bpd capacity - Requires enormous crude supply - Venezuela’s production capacity: 2-3 million bpd - CITGO absorbs ~25-35% of Venezuelan output - Guaranteed market for Venezuela - Guaranteed supply for CITGO
Infrastructure: - Pipelines from ports - Storage facilities - Distribution network - Gas stations (CITGO branded) - Vertically integrated system
Capital Costs: - Building new refinery: $10-15 billion (modern) - Coker unit: $1-2 billion - Hydrocracker: $1-2 billion - Total CITGO upgrade (1986-1990): $3-5 billion estimated
Operating Costs: - Crude oil: Largest cost (70-80% of total) - Energy: Natural gas, electricity - Labor: Skilled workforce - Maintenance: Ongoing equipment upkeep - Environmental: Compliance, emissions control
Profit Margins: - “Crack spread”: Difference between crude cost and product value - Heavy crude = cheaper to buy - But: More expensive to process - Net margin: Depends on product prices - Volatile, can swing dramatically
The Business Model: - Buy cheap heavy crude (Venezuela) - Process into valuable products (gasoline, diesel) - Sell products in US market - Margin must cover processing costs plus debt service - When oil prices low: Margins tight - When prices high: Very profitable
Venezuela’s Revenue: - Crude sales to CITGO - Plus: CITGO profits (as owner) - Estimates: $5-10 billion annually (2000s) - Critical to government budget - Social programs entirely dependent
Initial CITGO Acquisition Debt (1986): - Principal: ~$15 billion estimated (total package) - Includes: Purchase price, upgrades, operating capital - Financing: International bank consortium - Structure: Floating rate loans - Terms: 20-30 year amortization - Collateral: CITGO assets themselves
Floating Rate Risk: - Interest rate not fixed - Tied to LIBOR or similar benchmarks - When rates rise: Payments increase - Venezuela exposed to rate fluctuations - Debt service unpredictable
Compounding Effect: - Interest on interest - Missed payments add to principal - Debt grows over time - By 2010s: Original debt multiplied
Additional Borrowing: - Operations require capital - Upgrades need financing - Venezuela borrows more against CITGO - Layers of debt accumulate
Original Lenders (1986): - Major international banks - Some loans sold over time - Secondary debt market
Elliott Management (Paul Singer): - Hedge fund specializing in distressed debt - Strategy: Buy defaulted bonds at discount - Then: Sue for full value - Track record: Argentina debt (2001), Peru, Congo - Began buying Venezuelan debt: Late 2000s, early 2010s - Paid: Pennies on dollar - Claim: Full face value plus interest
Other Creditors: - ConocoPhillips: $8 billion claim (2007 nationalization) - Crystallex: $1.2 billion (gold mine seizure) - Various bondholders - All seeking CITGO as collateral
Rosneft (Russia): - 2016 loan: $1.5 billion - Collateral: 49.9% CITGO shares - Creates competing claims - Eventually settles separately
Legal Strategy: - File claims in US courts - Venezuela defaults (inevitable) - Courts side with creditors - CITGO seizeable under US law - Venezuela owns asset but can’t protect it (trapped in US jurisdiction)
Legal Process: - Multiple creditors file claims - Delaware court handles cases - Judge orders CITGO sale to satisfy debts - Auction scheduled
Auction Mechanics: - Sealed bid process - Multiple bidders - Minimum bid thresholds - Court approval required
Winning Bid (2026): - Amber Energy Holdings (Elliott subsidiary) - Bid: $7.2 billion - Doesn’t cover all claims - But: Wins auction - Elliott positioned for this since 2010s
Distribution: - Auction proceeds to creditors - Pro-rata based on claims - Elliott gets significant portion - Other creditors get partial recovery - Venezuela gets nothing (debtor)
The Return: - Elliott bought debt at deep discount - Paid: Possibly 10-20 cents on dollar - Claim: Full face value - Auction price: Substantial - Return on investment: Massive - Example: Buy $1B debt for $100M, recover $500M = 5x return
US Sanctions Timeline:
August 2017: - Executive Order 13808 - Prohibits US entities from Venezuelan debt - Targets Maduro personally - Financial pressure begins
March 2018: - Additional sanctions on Venezuelan officials - Asset freezes - Travel restrictions
January 2019: - Executive Order 13850 (CITGO freeze) - Most significant impact - Venezuela blocked from CITGO revenue - Guaidó’s “interim government” gets control - Maduro’s lifeline cut
Effect: - Immediate revenue loss - Social programs collapse - Debt defaults accelerate - Legal claims strengthen - Seizure becomes inevitable
Legal Basis: - US courts jurisdiction over US assets - CITGO operates in US - Subject to US law - Venezuela can own but cannot protect - Perfect trap
John Perkins’ Framework:
Author: “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man” (2004)
The Process: 1. Identify country with resources 2. Offer massive loans for “development” 3. Loans go to US companies (engineering, construction) 4. Country gets infrastructure and debt 5. Debt becomes unpayable 6. Demand: Privatization, access to resources, political compliance 7. If refuses: Sanctions, coups, or intervention
Venezuelan Application: 1. ✓ Resource-rich country (oil) 2. ✓ Massive loans (CITGO acquisition) 3. ✓ Bechtel, Fluor build refineries 4. ✓ Infrastructure built, debt accumulated 5. ✓ Debt becomes unpayable (oil price collapse, mismanagement) 6. ✓ Sanctions applied (2017-2019) 7. ✓ Asset seizure (CITGO auction 2026)
Not Malicious Conspiracy: - System operates through incentives - No central coordinator needed - Banks profit from loans - Engineering firms profit from contracts - Lawyers profit from complexity - Hedge funds profit from defaults - Everyone following incentives - Pattern emerges from structure
Iran (1953): - Nationalized oil (1951) - Mohammad Mosaddegh elected - Threatens Western oil access - CIA-backed coup (Operation Ajax) - Shah restored - Oil contracts to Western companies
Guatemala (1954): - Land reform threatens United Fruit Company - Jacobo Árbenz elected - CIA-backed coup - Árbenz overthrown - United Fruit interests protected
Chile (1973): - Salvador Allende nationalizes copper - US economic pressure - CIA involvement in coup - Augusto Pinochet takes power - Privatization and market reforms
Iraq (2003): - Invasion and occupation - Oil infrastructure “reconstruction” - Contracts to US firms (Halliburton, etc.) - Resources under new management
Libya (2011): - Qaddafi overthrown (NATO intervention) - Oil infrastructure target - Country destabilized - Resources up for grabs
The Pattern: 1. Resource nationalization or independence 2. Threat to Western access/profit 3. Economic pressure, loans, or sanctions 4. If persists: Regime change (coup, war, or negotiation) 5. New regime favors Western access 6. Resources flow to developed economies
Venezuela Fits: - 1976: Nationalization - 1986: Debt trap set (CITGO) - 1999-2019: Resistance (Chávez/Maduro) - 2017-2019: Sanctions (economic warfare) - 2026: Extraction and seizure - Result: Resources back under US control
Not Unique: - Pattern repeats across decades - Different methods, same result - Resource-rich countries struggle for sovereignty - Developed economies maintain access - Architecture designed for this outcome
Conductors (Visible Power): - Presidents, prime ministers - Publicly make decisions - Held accountable by populations - Media scrutiny - Blamed when things go wrong - Removed when convenient - Examples: Chávez, Maduro, Mosaddegh, Allende
Architects (Invisible Power): - Engineering firms (Bechtel, Fluor) - Financial institutions (banks, hedge funds) - Law firms (structuring deals) - Think tanks (policy frameworks) - Consultants (advising governments) - Never on ballots - Never face voters - Profit regardless of outcome
The Relationship: - Conductors think they drive - Make public decisions - Take credit and blame - Visible to all
Venezuela Example: - Chávez: Conductor (visible, charismatic, blameable) - Maduro: Conductor (visible, struggling, blameable) - Bechtel: Architect (built infrastructure, invisible) - Elliott: Architect (positioned for seizure, invisible) - Banks: Architects (structured debt, invisible)
Outcome: - Conductor blamed for failure - Architect profits from cycle - Pattern repeats with next conductor - Architecture remains
Not a Conspiracy: - No smoke-filled room - No single coordinator - No evil masterminds
It’s a System: - Multiple actors following incentives - Banks: Maximize profit from loans - Engineering firms: Win contracts - Hedge funds: Buy distressed assets - Lawyers: Structure complexity - Politicians: Respond to pressures - Media: Report visible events
The System Produces: - Debt traps (profitable to lenders) - Resource extraction (profitable to developers) - Regime changes (when resistance too costly) - Asset seizures (when defaults occur)
Why It Persists: - Benefits concentrated (architects profit enormously) - Costs diffused (populations suffer over decades) - Complexity obscures pattern - Public blames visible leaders - System continues unchanged
The Architecture: - Built over decades - Invisible to most participants - Self-reinforcing - Profits those who understand it - Punishes those who resist - Venezuela: Case study in how it works
Government & Legal Documents: - Venezuelan Constitution (1999) - CITGO acquisition documents (public filings) - Delaware court proceedings (CITGO seizure) - US Executive Orders 13808, 13850 (sanctions) - PDVSA annual reports (various years) - SEC filings for CITGO (public period)
News Archives: - The New York Times (Venezuela coverage 1976-2026) - The Wall Street Journal (oil markets, finance) - El Universal (Venezuelan newspaper) - Reuters (international coverage) - Associated Press archives
Economic Data: - World Bank - Venezuela economic indicators - IMF reports on Venezuela - OPEC production statistics - US Energy Information Administration - Federal Reserve economic data
Books:
John Perkins - “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man” (2004) - First-person account of debt-trap model - Latin American case studies - Framework for understanding pattern
Fernando Coronil - “The Magical State” (1997) - Venezuelan oil economy history - Petro-state analysis - Cultural and political context
Steve Ellner - “Rethinking Venezuelan Politics” (2008) - Chávez era analysis - Political economy - Social movements
Greg Grandin - “Empire’s Workshop” (2006) - US intervention in Latin America - Historical patterns - Cold War to present
Bart Jones - “Hugo!” (2007) - Chávez biography - Political career - Bolivarian revolution
Academic Papers: - Journal of Latin American Studies (various) - Energy Policy journal (oil economics) - Review of International Political Economy
The Intercept: - US-Venezuela relations - Sanctions impact - Guaidó coverage
Bloomberg: - CITGO financial status - Debt crisis coverage - Auction proceedings
Financial Times: - Oil markets analysis - Sovereign debt markets - Hedge fund strategies
ProPublica: - US foreign policy - Corporate involvement in resource extraction
To Research for Film: - Former PDVSA executives - Venezuelan economists in exile - US State Department officials (retired) - Oil industry analysts - Debt market specialists - Human rights organizations - Venezuelan refugees
Potential Interview Subjects: - Journalists who covered Venezuela - Academic experts on petrostates - Former US diplomatic staff - Oil traders familiar with CITGO - Financial analysts who tracked debt
For Research: - “South of the Border” (2009) - Oliver Stone doc on Chávez - “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” (2003) - 2002 coup doc - “Inside Job” (2010) - Financial crisis architecture - “The Act of Killing” (2012) - Power and narrative - “Why We Fight” (2005) - Military-industrial complex
For Style: - Adam Curtis documentaries - Pattern revelation - Errol Morris - Interview techniques - Alex Gibney - Investigative docs
Oil & Refining: - Society of Petroleum Engineers publications - Oil & Gas Journal technical articles - Refinery engineering textbooks - CITGO public technical documents - Energy industry trade publications
Finance: - Sovereign debt market analyses - Distressed debt investment guides - Elliott Management case studies (Argentina, etc.) - Credit default swap mechanisms - Bankruptcy and seizure law
For Screenplay:
Tier 1 - Verified Facts: - Public dates, events, elections - Economic data from official sources - Legal proceedings (court records) - Public statements (recorded speeches) - Confirmed deaths, transitions
Tier 2 - Reported Events: - News coverage (multiple sources required) - Journalist accounts - Official narratives (US, Venezuela) - Documented but potentially biased
Tier 3 - Speculation: - Private conversations (imagined) - Motivations (inferred) - Secret negotiations (speculative) - Chinese coordination (theory) - Maduro’s deal (dramatized)
Clearly Mark in Script: - “Based on true events” = Tier 1 + 2 - Dramatic license = Tier 3 - Composite characters = Noted as such
Factual Foundation: - Use timeline for scene dating - Verify major events before dramatizing - Economic data grounds dialogue - Technical details add authenticity
Fictional Freedom: - Private scenes = creative interpretation - Motivations = character-driven speculation - Connections = pattern revelation through drama - Architecture = metaphor made literal
Dialogue: - Real quotes (public speeches) can be used - Private conversations = fictional but grounded - Technical language = accurate but accessible - Pattern revelation = educational + dramatic
Historical Accuracy: - 1970s-2020s visual evolution - Venezuelan fashion, architecture, culture - CITGO facilities (photography research) - Period-accurate technology
Archive Footage Sourcing: - Chávez speeches (widely available) - 2002 coup (documented on video) - News coverage (archives accessible) - CITGO facilities (b-roll available)
Location Scouting: - Venezuelan urban environments - Oil refineries (US Gulf Coast) - Government buildings - Period-appropriate interiors
During Production: - Verify dates before finalizing scenes - Cross-reference economic data - Legal review of speculative elements - Sensitivity to Venezuelan perspectives
Disclaimer Approach: - “Based on true events” - “Some details dramatized” - “Composite characters” - “Timeline compressed” - Clear fiction vs. fact boundaries
Representing Venezuelans: - Not as victims only - Dignity and complexity - Avoid stereotypes - Real human impact of architecture
Political Balance: - Not pro-Chávez propaganda - Not pro-US propaganda - Focus on systemic patterns - Let audience draw conclusions
The Architecture as Subject: - System, not individuals - Pattern, not conspiracy - Incentives, not evil - Reveal without judging
This document compiles: - 50 years of Venezuelan history - Technical realities of oil and debt - Legal architecture of extraction - Systemic patterns across countries
For the film: - Foundation in fact - Freedom in fiction - Truth in pattern revelation
The conductor was visible. The architects remain invisible.
This film makes the invisible visible.
END OF WORLD BIBLE
Version: 1.0 Date: January 6, 2026 Status: Complete research foundation
Cross-Reference: - PROJECT_MASTER.md (narrative structure) - scene-breakdown.md (scene-specific research needs) - character-profiles.md (character grounding in reality)
Next: Use this foundation to write authentic, grounded screenplay that reveals architecture through compelling drama.
“The debt trap is real. The pattern repeats. The architecture is designed. Our job: Make it visible.”