Venezuela Offering Neighbors Oil Deal

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is scheduled to sign an agreement today with 10 Caribbean and Central American states to supply them with crude oil on favorable financing terms in a move to cushion the nations from rising oil prices. Venezuela will finance between 15% and 25% of the cost of 80,000 barrels a day of crude when oil prices are higher than $15 a barrel. The financing will be for up to 15 years, with a one-year grace period, an interest rate of only 2%, and the opportunity to pay for the crude in kind. The nations due to sign the accord are Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Cuban President Fidel Castro is due to arrive in Venezuela on Oct. 26 and is expected to sign the accord during his visit, according to Venezuelan officials.