Venezuela has paid $820 million it owed to Colombian exporters and is still revising claims worth $450 million, Colombia’s trade minister said Friday.
According to Minister Sergio Diaz-Granados, Caracas has paid approximately $100 million it owed to Colombian airlines and approximately $700 million to other export sectors.
Of the $450 million that Colombian textile, food and construction material exporters still claim, $250 million should be indisputable.
The Venezuelan government is investigating each claim after accusing Venezuelan importers of having inflated the debt to get their hands on foreign currency, which is restricted in Venezuela whose own currency has been suffering one of the highest inflation rates in Latin America under President Hugo Chavez.
