Haiti has paid $500 million to Venezuela and no longer owes $2.2 billion to the country.
This is how the Minister of Economy and Finance, Ketleen Florestal, confirmed to Le Nouvelliste and Magik 9 the cancellation of a significant portion of Haiti’s PetroCaribe debt to Venezuela.
The minister, who also holds the portfolio for Planning and External Cooperation, gave a lengthy interview following an important meeting on revitalizing economic growth in Haiti, held on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) headquarters in Washington.
The full interview with the Minister of Economy and Finance will be aired on Wednesday on Magik 9.
According to information reported to Le Nouvelliste, the agreement between Haiti and Venezuela regarding the debt was finalized in January 2024, during the last weeks of Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s government.
The $500 million paid to Venezuela did not come directly from the public treasury but from a blocked account that had been frozen due to U.S. financial sanctions on Venezuela.
Haiti had been paying $9 to $10 million monthly in debt service to Venezuela, but the funds were held in a frozen account. It was these accumulated payments that allowed Haiti to make a one-time payment of $500 million to Venezuelan authorities. In exchange, Venezuela canceled $1.7 billion of Haiti's debt.
Observers first noticed the significant reduction in debt service costs last month when the revised budget was published.
Going forward, the $9 to $10 million that was previously allocated for debt payments will remain in the public treasury and can now be used for other purposes.