The West made billions enslaving poor countries. It's very dirty and very real.
An Economic Hit Man, or EHM, is something like a secret agent. But unlike James Bond, an EHM mostly relies on the art of persuasion. Instead of gadgets, an EHM's tools are payoffs, extortion, and misleading economic reports, all with one main purpose: push countries to accept more and more economic aid from international organizations like the World Bank. Then use that debt to influence policy decisions, especially ones related to valuable natural resources like oil. When countries owe money, the US can count on their loyalty, and that also benefits large US corporations and their wealthy investors.
With their doctored financial reports, EHMs convinced leaders that the programs they pushed would help the local economy flourish. If the leader wasn’t aligned with US interests – or was unwilling to cooperate – EHMs would help instigate coups, followed by elections rigged to ensure a more agreeable replacement took over. EHMs also made use of extortion, threats, and whatever else was necessary to achieve US political, economic, and military goals.