Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the media before a European Council summit in Brussels, Belgium, June 27, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)Former U.S. "economic hitman" revealed tactics employed by the United States to "economically hunt" emerging market nations.BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- "It started out as an 'economic hunt' ... I have no doubt that in the end (U.S. President Donald) Trump wants to control Ukraine economically, and seize its mineral resources," said a New York Times best-selling author.Speaking of the potential U.S.-Ukraine mineral deal, John Perkins, an author and former U.S. "economic hitman," revealed tactics employed by the United States to "economically hunt" emerging market nations.In an interview with Xinhua, Perkins said he was recruited by U.S. intelligence to become an "economic hitman" in the 1960s-1970s. For over a decade, under the guise of chief economist at Charles T. Main Inc., he traveled to numerous emerging markets and developing countries, planning, participating in and witnessing major historical events.In 2004, Perkins published his semi-autobiographical book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and lifted the veil on America's "economic hitmen."In his view, these hitmen often disguise themselves as economists, bankers, international financial advisors and executives of multinational corporations and investment funds.He said they have for years used such tactics as falsifying financial reports, rigging elections, bribery, extortion and even assassination to co-opt, corrupt and control the political and economic elites of emerging market countries.The mineral agreement the United States pushed Ukraine to sign is the latest example of its "economic hunt" targeting other nations, Perkins said.U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (not in the picture) at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Feb. 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)Speaking of the clash between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. leaders during Zelensky's late February visit to the White House, Perkins described the incident as a "power play" by Washington.The clash showed Trump wants to demonstrate to the world that "he can push around countries and their leaders who are not as powerful as the United States," he said.To this day, Perkins said, U.S. "economic hitmen" remain a covert force operating across the globe.He explained that their primary mission is to target emerging nations, pushing them to take unmanageable loans from groups like the World Bank and the U.S. Agency for International Development, and steering contracts to U.S. firms and selected interest groups.These countries are then forced to divert funds from social services like healthcare and education to pay off loan interest, trapping them in a cycle of debt, Perkins said.When they're too deep in crisis to recover, the "economic hitmen" step in with unreasonable demands like hosting U.S. military bases, aligning with the United States in UN votes, or selling precious resources at rock-bottom prices, he further explained.This photo taken on May 22, 2024 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)"One of the ways in modern history that empires have been expanded is through putting countries deep into debt," he said."In the past, empires primarily expanded through military forces or the threat of military intervention. But in more recent years, there's been a lot more emphasis on doing it through economics. And debt plays a big role in that," Perkins noted.He told Xinhua that when leaders of emerging markets and developing countries refuse to bow to U.S. interests or reject American-proposed deals, the "economic hitmen" resort to their second tactic -- unleashing "jackals." These operatives, he added, force compliance through brutal means like orchestrating coups, assassinations or even waging wars.When an emerging market country defaults on its debt and plunges into economic chaos, U.S. "vulture funds" will swoop in to exploit the crisis, Perkins said, noting that this is yet another tactic in America's playbook to economically target emerging markets."Vulture funds" are investment funds that buy up defaulted bonds at low prices and pursue high profits through aggressive litigation. They are named for their appetite for distressed debt, much like vultures feeding on carrion."Unfortunately, there are still a lot of vulture funds, and they cause a lot of damage around the world," Perkins said. "They are very, very predatory."