The great tragedy of the 7.0 earthquake that essentially destroyed the nation of Haiti has many wondering if that nation can ever recover.  In fact, as you read this Haiti continues to be a disaster zone of unprecedented magnitude.  Lots of money has been raised by celebrities, but victims of the earthquake in Haiti are still absolutely desperate for food and water.  

But even as Haiti struggles to recover from the greatest disaster in that nation's history, information is coming to light that the key to a brighter future for the Haitians may have been lying under their feet all this time.  It turns out that there are massive reserves of gold and oil in Haiti.  These abundant natural resources could be used to rebuild Haiti and give those people an incredibly bright future - if someone else does not sweep in and steal those resources first. 

I'll have to admit when I first heard about oil in Haiti I was quite skeptical.

After all, why wouldn't we have heard about it by now if they had it?

Well, the reality is that there are vast untapped oil reserves in many areas of the globe, and Haiti's have not been developed due to the violence and political instability that have ravaged that nation for decades.  Not to mention the fact that Haiti does not possess the technical expertise to exploit those resources.

But apparently they do exist.

According to a report in the French newspaper Le Post, scientists Daniel and Ginette Mathurin say that  Haiti's oil reserves are larger than those of Venezuela.

In fact, Daniel Mathurin says that Haiti's oil reserves are so much larger that they are not even worth comparing....

"An Olympic pool compared to a glass of water that is the comparison to show the importance of oil Haitian compared to those of Venezuela."

That is an amazing statement considering the fact that Venezuela is one of the world's major oil producers.

But Daniel and Ginette Mathurin are not the only ones making these claims about oil in Haiti.

In a paper dated March 27, 2004, Dr. Georges Michel detailed the history of oil discoveries in Haiti and explained why they have not been exploited yet. 

According to Michel, the big oil companies know about the massive reserves of oil in Haiti but in the 50s and 60s there was almost too much oil to go around so they decided that those reserves were not needed at the time and that they would be kept in reserve until later....

[The attitude of these big multinational oil companies was] "We shall keep the Haitian deposits and other such layers of deposits in reserve for the 21st century when the Middle Eastern jackpot are depleted."

In fact, it was apparently known as far back as 1908 that Haiti has substantial reserves of oil.

But those poor people have been kept in abject poverty all this time when they could have been benefiting from all of this oil.

Not only that, but Haiti also apparently possesses a great deal of gold as well.

A United Nations study in the 70s indicated Haiti could be littered with gold and copper deposits.  However, the same political violence and recurring coups that have kept the oil in Haiti from being exploited have also kept the gold from being mined.

So how much gold does Haiti have?  Well, the former president of Dominican Petroleum Refinery recently said that Haiti has vast untapped reserves of gold and iridium (a little known and rare mineral that is vital for the construction of spacecraft) and that these resources should be used to pay off the Haitian foreign debt.

And he is not alone in his assessment.

Back in 2007 a geologist with 27 years of experience hunting for gold was asked what he thought the chances of discovering huge amounts of gold in Haiti were.  This is how he responded....

"I don't think there's a question of whether there's a good deposit here. It's a question of whether we can develop it here in Haiti."

In fact, analysts are predicting "a stampede into Haiti" if the existence of large gold deposits there can be confirmed.

So one of poorest nations in the world turns out to be just brimming with oil and gold....

Do you think that those resources will be used to rebuild Haiti and to give those people a truly bright future?

Don't count on it.

In fact, now that Haiti has essentially been destroyed, troops are pouring in and politicians are already talking about starting business ventures in the country.  To many in Washington, Haiti's natural resources are considered "strategic reserves" of the United States.

You see, for decades Haiti has been viewed by many as being essentially "owned" by the United States.  The U.S. government has done little to actually help the nation of Haiti get on the right path, but they maintain a huge presence there.  In fact,  the U.S. constructed its fifth largest embassy in the world in the nation of Haiti.

But perhaps that is just a coincidence.

The key will be to watch what happens to Haiti's natural resources as the rebuilding of that nation proceeds.

Will all of the gold and oil be used to help the people of Haiti, or will the gold and oil be exploited by ruthless foreigners?

The world will be watching.