Nicholson hopeful oil deal will survive Chávez

KINGSTON, Jamaica - FOREIGN AFFAIRS and Foreign Trade Minister Senator A.J. Nicholson yesterday said that if the late Hugo Chávez's United Socialist Party wins in another national election "we would dare to hope that the PetroCaribe and other projects would continue." In an interview on Radio Jamaica yesterday, Nicholson sought to allay fears regarding the PetroCaribe deal, noting that Venezuelan Vice-President Nicholas Maduro had made a promise "not so long ago" that the entire agreement would be extended. He noted that there were many other spin-off projects from the agreement. However, he argued that, "If the party does not win, we do not know how it will go, but we dare to hope that the projects would continue."