CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela has received a $500 million payment from Haiti for fuel supply to the island sent as part of a regional cooperation agreement, the South American country’s information ministry said on Friday.
Under late President Hugo Chavez, Venezuela sent millions of barrels of crude and fuel under flexible payment terms to its Caribbean neighbors, many of which, including Haiti, later struggled to amortize debts. President Nicolas Maduro has said he wants to revive the pact.
Bloomberg first disclosed the payment by Haiti, saying total accumulated debt was $2.3 billion. It added that Venezuela is in talks with other countries for similar payments.
“All the resources will be used to finance missions (social programs),” the ministry said in a release posted on social media.
Venezuela has not disclosed for over a decade pending debts by members of the Petrocaribe energy pact, and has not said if any country other than political ally Cuba are currently receiving oil supplies.
(Reporting by Caracas staff)
