Venezuela's Maduro promises importers overdue hard currency

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro promised to pay back billions of dollars in government debt to disgruntled importers, after widespread shortages of basic goods helped fuel months of deadly anti-government protests. “We are going to immediately pay back 30 percent of (the total hard currency owed to importers) as a way to move forward on these commitments,” Maduro told a gathering of business leaders. Venezuela — which sits atop the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves — has Latin America’s highest inflation rate — 57 percent. Maduro’s heavily state-led government inherited from late leader Hugo Chavez a decade-old system of hard currency controls.