More concern is being raised about the future of the PetroCaribe agreement, with the death of Venezuela's President, Hugo Chavez.
Sir Ronald Sanders, a former Caribbean diplomat, warned on Thursday that 17 Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, face a heightened period of economic uncertainty.
In a published opinion piece, Sir Ronald said these countries have become highly reliant on their oil supplies from Venezuela via PetroCaribe, a part-payment loan scheme.
Sir Ronald is of the view that if Mr. Chavez’s chosen successor, Nicolas Maduro, wins the Presidential election, the PetroCaribe deal may continue for a while longer but probably under amended arrangements.
On the other hand, if the election is won by the opposition candidate, Henrique Capriles, PetroCaribe, he said, will unwind fairly rapidly.
Mr. Capriles, who lost last year’s Presidential contest against Mr. Chavez by a 10-point margin, has already indicated that the scheme would end and the money focused instead on the needs of the Venezuelan people.
All feeds
