A decade earlier, Venezuela, a petrostate under the leadership of Hugo Chavez, witnessed a collapse in oil prices. In 2017, the cost for a barrel plunged to RuneScape gold close to $50 from a record high that exceeded $100 while the U.S. instituted wide-ranging sanctions against Venezuela's authoritarian government.

"When oil prices started to drop in the early 2000s, there was not enough money to import products," said Alejandro Velasco who is professor of New York University who specializes in Venezuelan political issues, in an interview via phone. "As the result, there was no more money to support the economy."

Venezuela's coffers were empty after the country spent its most recent oil windfall on social programs like subsidised healthcare, food along with literacy and health programs. Chavez also removed perceived dissidents from the oil sector following an attempted military coup, that affected production.

And widespread corruption in the government has also hurt the economy, according to Paul Angelo, a fellow at the Council for Foreign Relations who is an expert on old school rs gold Latin American politics.