Venezuela, situated on South America's northern coast, is bordered by the Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Colombia, Brazil, Trinidad & Tobago, and Guyana. Colonized by Spain in the 16th century, it was among the first Spanish-American territories to declare independence in 1811. The country has a tumultuous political history, marked by autocracy, military dictators, and economic shocks in the 1980s, 90s, and 2010s. While once reliant on agricultural exports like coffee and cocoa, Venezuela's economy is now dominated by oil exports. Geographically, Venezuela features the northeastern extensions of the Andes mountain range, the northern fringes of the Amazon Basin, numerous Caribbean islands, and Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall. Its diverse geography includes cloud forests, rainforests, scrublands, mountains, and mangroves, supporting a "megadiverse" array of animal and plant life, including 25,000 species of orchids. Despite being a top 10 country in biodiversity, Venezuela is also a leader in deforestation, oil extraction, and mining, endangering many ecosystems. Venezuela is renowned in the cocoa world, considered the cocoa equivalent to Champagne, with 90% of its beans being the prized Criollo variety, accounting for only 1% of global supply. It’s in this area that Theobroma trees first evolved and beans from areas like “Chuao” rank among the world’s most sought after. However, political and economic conflicts have disrupted cocoa cultivation and supply chains, posing challenges for accessing this renowned cocoa.