Venezuela was nose-diving headfirst into the worst peacetime economic crisis globally in fifty years. Economists say it was a toxic cocktail of political corruption and the government’s misguided policies that squandered the country’s rich natural endowment. Venezuela sits atop the largest proven petroleum reserves in the world. It was once Latin America’s wealthiest country. But beginning in 2016, hyperinflation went haywire; unemployment skyrocketed; violent crime exploded as families across the country watched the value of their entire life savings collapse. From late 2017 to 2019,
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