Category: Venezuela

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers visit http://www.djreprints.com. http://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuelan-officials-suspected-of-turning-country-into-global-cocaine-hub-1431977784 U.S. probe targets No. 2 official Diosdado Cabello, several others, on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering ENLARGE Diosdado Cabello, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, is a leading target of U.S. investigations into alleged drug trafficking and money laundering by senior officials in the South American nation, a Justice Department official said. Mr. Cabello has denied wrongdoing. Photo: Marco Bello/Reuters U.S. prosecutors are investigating several high-ranking Venezuelan officials, including the president of the country’s congress, on suspicion that they have turned the country into a global hub for cocaine trafficking and money laundering, according to more than a dozen people familiar with the probes. An elite unit of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Washington and federal prosecutors in New York and Miami are building […]

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CARACAS Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro said on Friday the country is working towards a new agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC nations to stabilize oil prices "We’re currently working on a deal that hopefully can materialize in June regarding an announcement between OPEC and some of the most important (oil) producers in the world to finish stabilizing the market in the second half of the year," he said after a meeting with Qatar’s emir. He said it was in the interests of the South American country and OPEC nations to stabilize prices around $100 per barrel in the medium term. (Reporting by Caracas newsroom; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)

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Venezuela has larger oil reserves than Saudi Arabia. The country only produces 20% of Saudi Arabia’s production level. Venezuela needs higher oil prices for success – this may result in increased production and therefore market supply. Introduction Venezuela is a significant player in the oil markets. The country has several hundred billion barrels worth of oil according to their data, which represents ten years of the world’s production by itself. The country currently has a production of 30.41 million people up from 24.41 million in the year 2000 and 19.74 million in the year 1990. The country’s oil allows it to have a relatively high $14,414.75 GDP per Capita. This compares to $11,208.08 for Brazil and $41,787.47 for the United Kingdom. Reserves Venezuela Oil Holdings – Deep Resource As we can see here, much of the country’s reserves are from the Orinoco Belt in Venezuela. The Orinoco Belt has […]

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Photo Venezuelan oil workers demonstrating against the United States in March. During the boom years of high oil prices, little was done to stop the billions that disappeared through corruption and fraud. Credit Meridith Kohut for The New York Times CARACAS, Venezuela — The weed whackers were $12,300. Each. Then there was the $1.8 million machinery to kill and gut chickens. When the police checked it, they found a worthless jumble of rusted scrap metal. And there were the businessmen who collected $74 million to ship chemicals and other products from abroad — but sent almost nothing in return. For years, Venezuela has had a hole in its pocket, a very big hole. The government’s complex currency system has led to exorbitant schemes by importers, who wildly inflate the value of goods brought into the country to grab American dollars at rock-bottom exchange rates. Sometimes, they fake the shipments […]

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CARACAS—Venezuela’s government, which heavily subsidizes electricity, will start rationing power nationwide as it faces a surge in demand for air conditioning amid a continuing heat wave, officials said Tuesday. The cuts will begin with some public-sector offices where the workday will be reduced to six hours from eight and where power use will be moderated, Vice President Jorge Arreaza said in an address broadcast on state television. He also promised inspections of large private consumers such as malls, hotels and other industries. He blamed the recent surge in power demand on climate change caused by excessive industrialization. “This is of course linked to global warming and the excessive industrialization of capitalism, which never stops, nor has ever stopped, for the effects that it can have on the climate, on society and on Mother Earth,” Mr. Arreaza said. The announcement comes one day after local reports of power outages affecting […]

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Every time Venezuela introduces a new, weaker currency exchange rate, some of the world’s largest companies face the decision of whether or not to adopt it. If they eventually do switch to the less favorable rate, it can result in multimillion-dollar charges that drag down balance sheets and earnings statements. At least 46 S&P 500 companies, about 10 percent of the total index, have told investors about potential exposure to Venezuela’s currency in the past year, according to a search of company filings compiled by Bloomberg. Venezuela currently has three legal  exchange rates  that are pre-set by the government, and companies that operate there have to decide which one they should use to value net monetary assets and report sales. The rates are currently at 6.3, 12 and 196.95 bolivars per dollar. The first two rates (called the Cencoex rate and the Sicad rate) are allowed for transacting government-authorized priority goods including food, medicine and car parts. […]

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ORINOCO BELT, Venezuela (Reuters) – Venezuela has launched talks this month on a novel plan to blend the country’s heavy crude with light oil from other OPEC allies, seeking to create a new variety that can compete against swelling U.S. and Canadian supplies. The proposal, which would expand on a pilot scheme involving Algerian oil last year, envisions supplying refineries built for medium-grade crudes rather than the light oil that has become plentiful as a result of the North American shale boom, said the head of state oil company PDVSA, Eulogio del Pino. Del Pino said he raised the idea during the Summit of the Americas in Panama earlier this month and at a meeting with ambassadors from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Caracas last week. He did not specify how other members had responded or what the next steps would be. The talks suggest that […]

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BOGOTÁ, Colombia — A White House official said Tuesday that Venezuela was not a threat to the national security of the United States, backing off language in an executive order that had inflamed relations with the South American nation and drawn criticism from other countries in the region. The comments came as President Obama prepared to leave for a trip to the Caribbean and Latin America that will include a meeting of heads of state from the hemisphere. “The United States does not believe that Venezuela poses some threat to our national security,” said Benjamin J. Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, during a telephone call with reporters to discuss the president’s trip. He was referring to an executive order signed by Mr. Obama last month that called for economic sanctions against seven Venezuelan officials who the United States said were involved in human rights abuses or […]

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Venezuela’s parliament granted President  Nicolas Maduro  decree powers on Sunday for the rest of 2015 in a move he says is to defend the country from U.S. meddling but opponents decry as evidence of autocracy. In a noisy National Assembly session, ruling Socialist Party legislators, who have a majority, applauded the "Enabling Law" as a legitimate response to a U.S. declaration that Venezuela is a security threat and sanctions on seven officials. "They (the United States) want to stick their hands into Venezuela’s wealth, just as they have done in other countries," ruling party legislator Tania Diaz said, presenting the "anti-imperialist" Enabling Law to parliament. Outside, red-clad Maduro supporters chanted and held placards proclaiming, "Yankees go home." Opposition lawmakers said Maduro was cynically exploiting the diplomatic flare-up with Washington to amass powers, justify repression and distract Venezuelans from economic problems including acute shortages. On March 9, President Barack Obama issued an executive order declaring Venezuela a national security threat, sanctioning the […]

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