Venezuela promises to settle debts with Panama

VENEZUELA will pay "to the last cent" its debt to companies in Panama, said Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro said on Friday March 14.

He said that his government will negotiate directly with the companies following the diplomatic rupture with the Panamanian government.

"We will pay all obligations arising from trade relations with companies based in Panama, to the last cent," Maduro said at a press conference reports La Prensa.
The statement comes as Panama struggles to get itself out of the diplomatic and trade impasse with Venezuela.
Maduro broke ties with Panama over its request for the Organization of American States to examine internal issues in that country. That prompted Maduro to accuse Panama of interference and left Panama isolated among Latin American members of the Organization of American States – OAS.
The debt was contracted by Venezuelan businesses, but the government must make the payments under foreign exchange regulations that have governed Venezuela since 2003 and which does not allow private entities to manage foreign currency without authorization.
Colón Free Zone Manager Leopoldo Benedetti said that the amount of the debt amounts to about $2 billion, but the Venezuelan government has disputed that amount. It says the number was inflated in an attempt by Venezuelan businesses to smuggle money out of the country.
It also alleged that the number was inflated by the government of Panama for a percentage devoted to the CD election campaign.
The South American country, which gets almost $100 billion dollars a year from the sale of oil, owes $3.7 billion to airlines, $2 billion to the auto industry and $1.8 billion to pharmaceutical industry.