Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Caribbean leaders to visit Venezuela

Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and the biggest in the Western Hemisphere, has signed other deals with Caribbean countries to sell oil under preferential terms.

Preferential terms may include bartering the supposed reason why Bush attempted to overthrow Chavez.



Background:

2) More developing countries follow the lead of Venezuela and China in diversifying their currency reserves away from dollars and balanced with euros. Such a shift in dollar-euro holdings in Latin America and Asia could keep the dollar and euro close to parity.

7) Developing countries lacking dollars or "hard" currencies follow Venezuela's lead and begin bartering their undervalued commodities directly with each other in computerized swaps and counter trade deals. President Chavez has inked 13 such country barter deals on its oil, e.g., with Cuba in exchange for Cuban health paramedics who are setting up clinics in rural Venezuelan villages.
#msg-2499236

As for the events currently taking place in Venezuela, items #2 and #7 on the above list may allude to why the Bush administration quickly endorsed the failed military-led coup of Hugo Chavez in April 2002. Although the coup collapsed after 2 days, various reports suggest the CIA and a rather embarrassed Bush administration approved and may have been actively involved with the civilian/military coup plotters.
#msg-4758082

-Am

Caribbean leaders to visit Venezuela


Thursday, June 23, 2005 · Last updated 11:40 a.m. PT

By BERT WILKINSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

GEORGETOWN, Guyana -- Several Caribbean leaders will visit Venezuela next week for negotiations on an agreement to receive cheaper oil from the South American country, officials said Thursday.

Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo, Grenadian Prime Minister Keith Mitchell and Trinidadian Prime Minister Patrick Manning are expected to meet with Venezuela President Hugo Chavez on June 29 in the eastern Venezuela oil town of Puerto La Cruz, the Caribbean Community's secretariat said. The energy ministers from Venezuela and several Caribbean countries will meet in Puerto la Cruz on June 28, the secretariat said.

Talks are expected to center on Venezuela's proposal to create a regional company to offset high oil prices by distributing crude and refined oil products to the Caribbean at lower prices than other dealers in the area. Caribbean and Venezuela oil officials agreed during an August meeting in Jamaica to create the company, called PetroCaribe.

Although Trinidad is rich in oil and gas, other Caribbean countries import most of their energy and have struggled to cope with the spike in oil prices, which topped $59 a barrel Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and the biggest in the Western Hemisphere, has signed other deals with Caribbean countries to sell oil under preferential terms.



http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/apbiz_story.asp?category=1310&slug=Caribbean%20Venezuela%....