Oil Above All: Paraguay Joins New ‘Friends of Venezuela’ Club Despite Multi-Million Dollar Debt and Refusal to Recognize Maduro
Featured image: PETROPAR fuel tanks. Photo: Runrun.
The President of the Senate of Paraguay, Ăscar SalomĂłn, informed the press that next Tuesday, May 3, a delegation of Venezuelan National Assembly deputies will discuss with their Paraguayan colleagues the possibility of resuming the purchase of Venezuelan fuel by Paraguay.
The meeting will take place between a team of Paraguayan senators and four Venezuelan deputies who are currently in Paraguay, discussing the reinstatement of Venezuela in the Mercosur Parliament (Parlasur).
“Paraguay today needs cheaper fuel and Venezuela can give us that possibility to buy,” said Senator SalomĂłn.
He added that the Paraguayan Senate will listen to the proposals of the Venezuelan parliamentarians, in addition to discussing the “impasse between Paraguay and Venezuela.”
Despite the interest that Paraguay is now showing in resuming oil trade with Venezuela, the situation goes much beyond, since AsunciĂłn has an unpaid debt of some $300 million since 2009. This money that Paraguay owes Venezuela has been aggravated by the government’s recognition of “interim president” Juan GuaidĂł and participation in the failed US-led regime change operation in Venezuela.
The multimillion dollar debt dates back to the period when the state-owned PetrĂłleos Paraguayos (PETROPAR) acquired fuel from the Venezuelan state-owned oil company PetrĂłleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
Venezuela puede "ayudarnos a conseguir combustible mĂĄs barato", dice el presidente del Senado de Paraguay, SalomĂłn, ante la visita de parlamentarios venezolanos la prĂłxima semana, con quienes se reunirĂĄ. âHasta EEUU estĂĄ cambiando de postura", afirmĂł para defender su posiciĂłn.
— Marco Teruggi (@Marco_Teruggi) April 29, 2022
At that time, both countries agreed to follow the guidelines of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). However, the entire process was suspended in 2019 when Paraguay decided to break relations with Venezuela, refusing to recognize President NicolĂĄs Maduro.
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In this regard, the president of the Paraguayan Senate stated that there may be a change of position on Venezuela, “if it is convenient for the country.” He acknowledged that even the United States “is changing its position.”
Since the US wanted to resume talks with the Venezuelan government, given that it needs to alleviate its energy crisis stemming from high costs of gasoline, other countries in the region are also retreating from their former position of recognizing the fake presidency of GuaidĂł and want to resume their relations with Venezuela.
Such is the case of Brazil, the government of which has stated that it seems to be a good time to resume diplomatic relations with Venezuela. Argentina and Panama expressed the same interest in recent weeks.
âAt a time when the US is analyzing an exception to the blockade on Venezuelan oil exports, it really seems to me that we can think about reevaluating this issue of the diplomatic relationship,â Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Francia said recently.
Featured image: PETROPAR fuel tanks. Photo: Runrun.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana PerdigĂłn, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SC
