Venezuela, oil and sanctions

Background on the current political and economic situation in Venezuela.

Venezuela is home to the largest proven oil reserves in the world. Yes, more than Saudi Arabia or any other OPEC member. The vast majority of Venezuela’s economy has historically been based around oil, making Venezuela the exemplar petrostate in the region. At its height in the early 2000s, the country extracted over 3mn barrels/day. However, the countr…