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Venezuela is the country with the largest oil deposits, yet 3 in every 4 Venezuelan lives in extreme poverty. More than 7 million people are recorded as having left the country since 2015 in search of a better life, causing the largest ever displacement of people in Latin American history. And it\\u2019s only surpassed in numbers by those people leaving Ukraine.\\n \\nBut Venezuela is not at war, its current humanitarian crisis is the result of years of political and economic turbulence. International sanctions, imposed on the country with the aim of pressing the government to change its policies and restore democracy have had little impact, other than making it more difficult for Venezuela\\u2019s economy to function.\\n \\nPresidential elections are due to be held in the country next year, but talks between the government and the opposition to ensure that they are free and fair are currently at a standstill.\\n \\nThis week on The Inquiry we\\u2019re asking \\u2018Is Venezuela a failed state?\\u2019

Contributors: \\nMaria Gabriela Trompetero, Migration Researcher, Bielefeld University, Germany\\nAlejandro Velasco, Associate Professor of History, New York University, author of \\u2018Barrio Rising: Urban Popular Politics and the Making of Modern Venezuela\\u2019\\nDr. Luisa Palacios, Senior Research Scholar, Centre on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University\\nMariano de Alba, Senior Adviser, International Crisis Group.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett\\nProducer: Jill Collins\\nResearcher: Matt Toulson\\nEditor: Tara McDermott\\nTechnical Producer: Kelly Young\\nProduction Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

(Oil spills over a hand and river in Venezuela. Credit: John Harper/Getty Images)