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Venezuela made a US$ 2.1 million debt payment to the Central Bank of Chile on Tuesday as the South American country continues to meet its commitment to international creditors despite being faced with harsh sanctions imposed by the United States and European Union.
The payment, which was confirmed by officials of the Bank on Tuesday, was one of several payments the Bolivarian government has made in the last few months despite the economic war currently being waged against the country.
Chilean Central Bank is a member of the Reciprocal Payments and Credits Agreement of the Latin American Integration Association, ALADI, 12 Latin American central banks are a part of the agreement, which facilitates and monitors payments between member countries.
In November, Venezuela held a meeting with countries it is indebted to including the United States, Panama, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Japan, and Germany.
"Despite attempts to prevent it (The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela) which have been made by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) dependent on the Treasury Department of the Trump Administration, in an attempt to attack the Venezuelan economy and obstruct what has been a constant in the conduct of our Homeland regarding its commitments: we have honored them, regardless of the difficulties we face and the blockades that they try to perpetrate with malicious intentions."
"In the last 36 months, Venezuela has canceled, with the concept of Reimbursed Capital and Paid Interest, the amount of US$ 73,359,000,000," the November statement read.
Venezuela has external public debts of about US$ 150 billion, including US$ 45 billion in government debt and another US$ 45 billion of the state oil company PDVSA’s debt, per the International Institute of Finance, an adviser to a group of U.S. and international holders of Venezuelan debt.
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Pdvsa, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., Venezuela's state-owned oil and natural gas company, in November, also said in a statement, "despite the economic war, unjustified imposition of sanctions by Donald Trump, and the sabotage, persecution and financial blockade to which the Republic and its institutions have been subjected by a significant portion of the international financial system as commanded by imperialism."
Over the last year, Venezuela has also written-off US $100 million in debt owed to it by hurricane-struck Dominica.
"We do not want to end this meeting without announcing a concrete provision for a country that has suffered the most which will allow the brothers of the Caribbean to enter the process of recovery," Jorge Arreaza, Venezuela's foreign minister announced in November.
"This means the cancellation of a sovereign debt that exceeds US$ 100 million dollars in order to allow the government of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit funds for the reconstruction of his country, as well as the creation of a fiscal space that allows access to new credits."
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