Jamaica and other countries are investigating a move towards LNG (meetings in Washington planned since 6/14) as a way to reduce the cost of electricity using the gas instead of oil.
Below are snip-its from recent stories.
Could not find the one that said Veneuela may soon deal more with China.
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PetroCaribe member countries “pay 40 per cent upfront when the price is over US$100 per barrel; 50 per cent upfront when the price is between US$80-100 per barrel; 60 per cent upfront when the price is between US$50-80 per barrel; and full payment upfront when the price is below US$50 per barrel.
http://www.jsg.utexas.edu/lacp/2014/12/rbc-caribbean-economist-petrocaribe-countries-paying-more-with-lower-oil-price/
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Venezuela provides oil and refined products such as diesel at market prices, but it requires member countries to pay only a small portion of the cost up front and allows them to finance
Petrocaribe also has increased indebtedness, adding $3 billion alone to the obligation owed by Jamaica, where the public debt stands at 130 percent of GDP.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150124/cb--caribbean-energy_future-280037a46b.html
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Some Caribbean and Central American countries are bracing for cutbacks in shipments of cut-rate oil from Venezuela
“If Petrocaribe pulls out of Jamaica I don’t know how we are going to manage,” said Verona Barrett-Brown, the principal of a Kingston-area primary school
in Jamaica’s capital, projects funded with Venezuelan oil have provided aid to small farmers and businesses, refurbished a zoo and replaced pit latrines in schools with flushing toilets.
http://www.jsg.utexas.edu/lacp/2014/12/an-ailing-venezuela-trims-oil-diplomacy/
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as for a China story (a favorite topic), one quote and a worry about Jamaicans wanting to visit as a mule, the URL which says it all.:
...7 pounds (3 kilograms) of cocaine stuffed into her underwear and bra ....
Once in court, Amarilla was NOT given an opportunity to talk to her attorney, Bai, before the session and at least one of two hearings was not translated into Spanish
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150124/as-china-paraguay-drug-case-3434e04915.html
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Aside comment, unrelated to Jamaica or Paraguay, slightly including that the China Courts can be very secretitive, is the recent case of a person getting convicted (15 years for words on a blog) and the defense LAWYER received a 10 year sentence too.