Cuba-Venezuela oil deal rejected as swindle

Cuba-Venezuela oil deal rejected as "swindle"

Venezuelan oil experts Humberto Calderón Berti and José Toro Hardy
Monday rejected as "swindle" an oil agreement between Venezuela and
Cuba, claiming the deal amounts to a mere "barter."

According to Calderón Berti, under the agreement Venezuela originally
undertook to provide 53,000 bpd of oil, a figure that now exceeds
100,000 bpd. "And Venezuela is receiving no payment for these volumes of
crude oil exported."

He added that Venezuelans were told Cuba would provide free healthcare
services to Venezuela under the agreement, and so far the island has
failed to meet this obligation.

Calderón Berti stressed that out of the oil exports from Venezuela to
Cuba so far -which amount to USD 2.2 billion- USD 555 million are
long-term debt, with a three-year grace period and a 15-year term for
repayment, which he described as a bad debt.

"Venezuela will never get this money back. This debt is endorsed by
promissory notes issued by the National Bank of Cuba at a 2 percent
interest rate which mean nothing and have no value."

He added that Cuba is supposed to pay the remaining USD 1.66 billion by
providing free healthcare services in Venezuela.

But according to Toro Hardy, and based on the first addendum to the
agreement, dated January 1st, 2000, the institutions, agencies and
companies of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela have to pay for Cuban
healthcare goods and services, which means that "Cuba is not giving
anything."

http://english.eluniversal.com/2006/11/20/en_eco_art_20A805635.shtml