Photos show what Venezuela looked like when it was one of the world's richest countries

"The country, which has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, estimated at about a fifth of the world's total, produces less than 1% of the global oil production today, due to what President Donald Trump has called "badly broken infrastructure." US officials have said they will seek to influence Venezuela's transitional government and attract investment from American energy companies to help revive its collapsed oil sector."

"During the 1950s and more dramatically in the 1970s, Venezuela experienced periods of vast oil-fueled economic growth - nicknamed by historians as "Saudi Venezuela" - where luxury, foreign travel, and modernization defined a growing middle class. At the same time, the dramatic wealth of the era left some behind, highlighting the visible inequalities that contributed to a shift in domestic politics by the end of the century."

Venezuela once ranked among the world's richest nations due to oil-driven growth, particularly during the 1950s and 1970s when the country was nicknamed "Saudi Venezuela" as modernization and a growing middle class expanded. Decades of economic collapse reduced oil production to under 1% of global output despite holding about a fifth of proven global oil reserves, prompting mass migration of nearly a quarter of the population. The United States launched a military operation that captured President Nicolás Maduro, who pleaded not guilty to narco-terrorism and weapons charges in New York. US officials plan to influence a transitional government and encourage American energy investment to rebuild the oil sector.

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