Dominica freed of $100 million debt to Venezuela

Venezuela has written off more than US$100 million it was owed by Dominica.

Jorge Arreaza, the minister of foreign affairs, said the move was an act of solidarity by President Nicolas Maduro.

The money owed was outstanding Petrocaribe debt, and Arreaza said that the decision was a “concrete provision” that would allow “the brothers of the Caribbean to enter the process of recovery” following the passage of devastating hurricanes.

"Due to the difficult conditions facing our brethren in Dominica after the passage of Hurricane Maria, Venezuela is announcing the start of a process of debt forgiveness in the short- and long-term term for supplies of PetroCaribe from its creation until September 10, 2017," Arreaza added.

"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."

Since it launched in 2005, the Petrocaribe oil alliance has spread to 18 countries in Central American and the Caribbean.

Recipients of oil get the freedom to only repay 40% of the shipment’s cost with a short-term period, with the rest over 25 years.