Briceño Administration Successfully Restructures Petro-Caribe Debt

There is major news coming out of the Prime Minister’s visit to Venezuela a few weeks ago. As we have reported, during his recent trip Prime Minister John Briceño met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and discussed the close relations between both countries. Among the matters deliberated during that visit was Belize’s debt to Venezuela under the Petrocaribe program. Belize owes Venezuela just over half a billion dollars under that initiative. Well, this morning Prime Minister Briceño announced that negotiations with Venezuela have successfully yielded the restructuring of the debt. As a result of those talks, the Petrocaribe debt will be reduced by more than two hundred and fifty million dollars. It’s a significant haircut that P.M. Briceño ways will bring down Belize’s debt to G.D.P. ratio by another six percent.

Prime Minister John Briceño

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I am therefore especially pleased to announce today yet another decisive step in our camping to reverse the final call and debt crisis left us by the U.D.P.  government. Belize and Venezuela, Present Maduro and I on behalf of Belize and Venezuela has agreed to new restructuring terms which will reduce the amount Belize owes under Petro Caribe by anywhere between Belize two hundred and sixty seven million dollars and three hundred and twenty seven million dollars. We still have to balance the books between Belize and Venezuela. Belize debt to GDP will therefore fall by another six to seven percentage points. At such time that Belize can pay back Venezuela we will pay back this much reduced amount and do so from the date of our new agreement on the original terms provided for under Petro Caribe at an interest rate of two percent for twenty-five years, with a principal moratorium of two years. We negotiated everything and they even gave us a new start date. It is incredible, I don’t think deh one over that side could have ever think anything like this is possible, only pibil and the tacos right.”