A group of finance ministers is working on a US$10 billion package of trade finance that could be made available to help Venezuela out of its economic and humanitarian crisis once a new government is put in place, United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday.
A group of 20 mostly Western finance ministers that met earlier this week in the U.S. capitol is “going to be working on trying to put together a consortium of about US$10 billion of trade finance that would be available for the new government to spark trade,” Mnuchin said in a press conference.
Mnuchin was speaking several days after the fifth meeting of 20 finance minister from the group of the so-called “friends of Venezuela” that he hosted at the Treasury Department on Thursday. The meeting also featured the chief of Guadio’s economic advisers, Dr. Ricardo Hausmann.
More than 50 countries including the United States and Venezuela’s largest neighbours – Colombia, Brazil, Peru and Paraguya, have recognized opposition leader and self-declared ‘interim president’ Juan Guaido.
“We will continue to support Venezuela in its transition to a legitimate government as soon as possible to meet the people’s aspirations for a better life and democratic future,” Mnuchin added.
Russia, China, Cuba, Nicaragua and others recognize Nicolas Maduro.
