Thirteen billion dollars have vanished into a fog, and no one knows where. The Donald Trump administration has collected over 13 billion dollars from the sale of Venezuelan oil since January - but will not say what happened to the money. This is a story about what happens when a great power „liberates” a small country, and then sits on its biggest wealth.

The chronology is unambiguous. In January, the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and installed Vice President Delcy Rodríguez in his place as the de facto leader. Immediately afterwards, Washington took control of oil exports - and oil makes up around a quarter of Venezuela's entire gross domestic product. Whoever holds the oil holds the state.

Economists expected a quick recovery, since Venezuela previously had to sell its oil at huge discounts to get around US sanctions. But six months on, there is little trace of recovery. „Where is the money? There is no transparency,” asks Venezuelan economist José Guerra. His colleague Francisco Rodríguez is even more concrete - the Venezuelan government probably did not receive the full amount of that revenue.

Democratic congressman Joaquín Castro goes straight to the target: „Trump's invasion of Venezuela was motivated from the very start by oil, power and profit.” Official Washington claims it is holding the money as leverage to pressure the new government, and that every expenditure requires approval. But the statements are contradictory - some say around 3 billion has been transferred, others demand the quarterly reports that never arrived.

And the situation became even bleaker after the devastating earthquakes of 24 June, which caused damage estimated at 37 billion dollars. The country lies in ruins, the money from its own oil is stuck in someone else's accounts, and transparency is a word no one in power wants to say out loud. The US gave 386 million dollars in aid - a fraction of what it collected itself.

The Balkans know this scene by heart. Whenever „aid” and „liberation” come from outside, it is worth asking who ends up holding the till. A country's resources rarely belong to those who live above them - it is an old story, only the actors change. Venezuela today is a textbook example: a country rich in oil, and a people who do not see a single cent of that wealth.

The question is not whether the money will be found, but whether it was ever meant to reach where it belongs. When the accounting is done by the one who also holds the gun, an audit is a formality, not a guarantee.