Venezuela sits on top of the world’s largest proven oil reserve. The country is home to what is estimated to be a whopping 296.5 billion barrels, which accounts for a jaw-dropping 20 percent of global oil reserves. How can it be that a country so rich in resources has become one of the poorest nations in the world? Until relatively recently, Venezuela was the richest country in South America. Those days, however, are definitely over. “Venezuela is suffering one of the world’s gravest humanitarian crises,” writes the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). “Inflation is out of control and the country’s oil industry, which once fueled the economy, is in shambles. One in three Venezuelans is not getting enough to eat, and about 5 million Venezuelans, more than one in six, have fled the country.” As for Venezuela’s oil empire: “Venezuela’s fall from oil superpower to failing producer can […]