John Perkins worked as an "economic hitman" for decades, and has come out. His working strategy followed a pretty easy formula: lend poor countries more money than they need or can possibly repay for infrastructure improvements, make sure U.S. multinatioinals get the contracts, and when the poor countries fall behind in payments, take over their economies. If his strategy failed, the CIA would unleash the "jackels" who would try to destabilize the country (Chile, Haiti, Central America). If that failed, it would be war (Greneda, Panama, Iraq).