KINGSTON, Jamaica - Late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez predicted, during a visit to Jamaica eight years ago, that the PetroCaribe arrangement would save participating countries billions of dollars from crude oil purchases.
Following Chávez's passing yesterday, Dr Wesley Hughes, the newly appointed chief executive officer of the PetroCaribe Development Fund, acknowledged that Jamaica has benefited significantly from the arrangement.
"We are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars given on credit that has been used to provide balance of payments support," Hughes told The Gleaner.