The price of a Venezuelan oil barrel fell below 50$ to 48 USD per barrel, one of the lowest levels in years, according to Nicolas Maduro, who accused the United States of carrying out an “oil war”.

Despite the fact that Venezuela is the country with the largest oil reserves in the world, its finances are a mess because of the fall in prices as the country heavily depends on oil exports, which carry 96% of the exchange.

Crude oil reached 51.26 in the week from 15 to 19 of December, according to the Venezuelan oil ministry. According to estimates for 2015, the Venezuelan government has estimated that the price per barrel is 60$, which forced the president to make cuts in spending.