Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro faces uphill economic battle as low oil prices take their toll. (UPI Photo/Mohammad Kheirkhah) WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (UPI) — Venezuela’s economy will decline more than any other in the region as a result of the drop in oil prices, analysis from the International Monetary Fund found. The Central Bank of Venezuela in December said the collapse in oil prices was in part to blame for a 2.3 percent drop in third quarter gross domestic product. That marked three straight quarters of decline for the member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and a formal slip into recession . Oil prices have dropped more than half since June and are down 20 percent since the Central Bank’s announcement. Alejandro Werner, director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere division, said declining oil prices means a sharp economic downturn for Caracas. “Venezuela’s economy will take the largest hit […]