[joenot443]

I don't think there's a Swiss bank account in the world with room for $240b.

There's no doubt Maduro enjoyed some taste of the froth, but this is a silly oversimplification.

[ErneX]

Corruption at every level of government. Everybody was getting a piece of it. Add to that mismanagement, stupid subsidies. Plus they had a huge oil windfall during the early Chavez years. All that money is gone, I wish it was just the money that was borrowed from abroad.

They also spent billions to influence the elections of the other countries of the region. Chavez was also giving away oil for free in exchange of political support abroad. He even gave free oil for the buses of London because the mayor at the time was in good relations or something.