With its neat rows of detached family homes, complete with grass lawns and porches, Miraflores could be mistaken for a typical American suburb. Located in the heartland of Venezuela's oil industry, on the Costa Oriental (Eastern Coast) of Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo, this quiet neighbourhood once helped to make the country one of the wealthiest in Latin America. It was a symbol of national prosperity. This used to be one of the world's most productive oil basins, and along with the city of