The Richest Poor Country: Venezuela’s Oil Curse and the New Cold War in America’s Backyard

By Michael Rodriguez

First edition: September 2025
Published by Resource Economics Press
New York • London • Singapore

ISBN: 979-8232852139 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 979-8232743093 (eBook)

About the Book

Picture this: A nation blessed with the world’s largest proven oil reserves—more than Saudi Arabia, more than Russia—where citizens queue for days to buy a loaf of bread that costs half their monthly salary. A country that once boasted Latin America’s strongest middle class, where doctors and engineers now flee in numbers not seen since World War II refugee crises.

This is Venezuela today—the richest poor country on Earth, trapped in a paradox that defies everything we think we know about resource wealth and economic development.

From Hugo Chávez’s revolutionary rise to Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian grip, from the Chinese credit lifelines to Russian mercenaries patrolling the streets of Caracas, “The Richest Poor Country” exposes how Venezuela became the epicenter of a new Cold War—one fought not with nuclear weapons, but with oil contracts, cryptocurrency schemes, and information warfare.

Through exclusive interviews with former government officials, leaked intelligence documents, and three years of on-the-ground investigation across five countries, author Michael Rodriguez reveals the shocking truth: Venezuela’s collapse wasn’t an accident. It was engineered—by competing superpowers, predatory oligarchs, and a revolutionary movement that lost its way in the labyrinth of petrostate corruption.

What You’ll Discover

🤖 The Cryptocurrency Conspiracy

How Maduro’s “Petro” coin became a $735 million sanctions-evasion scheme, involving Russian hackers, Chinese blockchain technology, and a network of shell companies spanning twelve countries.

💰 The Chinese Credit Trap

Beijing’s $67 billion loan-for-oil program that quietly transformed Venezuela into China’s largest Western Hemisphere debtor—and potential military outpost.

🎭 The Wagner Group’s Latin Expansion

Exclusive evidence of Russian mercenaries training Venezuelan paramilitary forces while securing mining concessions in the lawless Arco Minero zone.

🌐 Operation Gedeón Exposed

The inside story of the failed 2020 coup attempt involving ex-Green Berets, Colombian paramilitaries, and a plot so bizarre it reads like spy fiction.

⚠️ The Migration Exodus Algorithm

Mathematical modeling reveals how Venezuela’s refugee crisis—now exceeding 7.3 million people—follows patterns engineered to destabilize neighboring democracies.

🔮 The Post-Maduro Power Struggle

Intelligence analysis predicting three scenarios for regime change—and why each could trigger a proxy war between Washington, Beijing, and Moscow.

Key Revelations

• The Pdvsa Papers: Leaked internal documents from Venezuela’s state oil company revealing how $300 billion in oil revenues vanished through structured corruption schemes

• The Saab Network: How businessman Alex Saab created a transnational criminal organization that funneled Venezuelan oil money through Turkey, Cape Verde, and Lebanon

• The Gold Highway: Satellite imagery and flight records exposing how Venezuelan gold reaches international markets through Iranian cargo planes and Turkish refineries

• The Miami Connection: Banking records showing how Venezuelan elites moved $8.2 billion through South Florida real estate and cryptocurrency exchanges

• The Humanitarian Weapon: Internal UN communications proving how food aid became a political control mechanism, deliberately creating famine to ensure regime survival

• The Electoral Fraud Blueprint: Technical analysis of Venezuela’s voting system revealing the precise methods used to manipulate election results since 2013

About the Author

Michael Rodriguez is an investigative journalist and economic analyst whose exposés have influenced international policy and financial markets worldwide. His previous bestsellers include “Dark Money Empire,” “The AI Emperor,” “Digital Dollar Dystopia,” and “The BlackRock Empire.”

For “The Richest Poor Country,” Rodriguez conducted extensive field research across Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Turkey, and the United States. He interviewed over 200 sources, including former government ministers, intelligence operatives, oil executives, and Venezuelan refugees. His investigation utilized leaked banking records, satellite imagery analysis, blockchain forensics, and confidential diplomatic cables to trace the global networks profiting from Venezuela’s collapse.

Rodriguez’s methodology combines traditional investigative journalism with financial forensics, utilizing cryptocurrency transaction analysis, offshore company registries, and flight tracking data to expose the criminal enterprises operating within and around the Venezuelan state.

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