So we will simply try to make it through it and I will attempt to monitor it. All eyes are on Venezuela today, and Venezuela's effect on the Caribbean nations from energy to trade and other things are extremely worrying, particularly Eastern Caribbean countries. So, I guess the concern that I have is, all 6 countries of the Company of Eastern Caribbean States are members of the Bolivarian Alliance called ALBA, which consists of efforts to promote local cooperation and alleviate poverty; so to what level have ALBA and Petrocaribe increased Venezuela's impact in the Caribbean? I believe I can can i rent out my timeshare address that concern enormously.
Mr. Farnsworth. Mr. Chairman, thank you. And I agree it is the pregnant problem if you will of the region. Venezuela is a country that is in collapse. Economically, some are saying it is no longer a democracy. It is a country that has severe and lasting internal issues which it is going to take years to get beyond. Therefore, the relationship Website link that Venezuela has actually developed with a number of countries of the Caribbean in great times has become stretched, since the largesse that Venezuela has had the ability to frankly distribute or to offer a concessionary on concessionary terms has been much constrained in the current environment.
I think what I would say is in the existing environment, due to the fact that of the difficulties that Venezuela is having and honestly since of the chances that we have in the United States through the whole revolution of energy that we have actually seen in our own nation over the last a number of years, we have a chance to come into the Caribbean as a partner and say, look, you know the programs and the activities that you might have been doing with Venezuela are no longer pertinent and we can offer the exact same things that you require without the political or without the ideological overhang that you might have had previously - How long can you finance timeshare debt release a camper.
Duncan. Let me ask you something about that. Is there enough trust of the United States for us to enter that space with those countries? I don't understand the response to that. Mr. Farnsworth. Well, I think in the current environment we require to do some foundation. We need to do some spade work. I mean, look, Petrocaribe was an extremely successful program and we comprehend why. I indicate, it was timely, it provided something that the leaders required when they needed it. It was symbolic. It was extremely, very easy to describe to people. I imply, we are getting oil from Venezuela.
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It was on one problem. And I believe often, when the United States engages with the countries of the Caribbean, we have a great deal of well suggesting programs and fantastic concepts, however they are diluted, right? Not deluded, however diluted in terms of the effort and the focus. Under Petrocaribe, it was one product easily explained, extremely symbolic, and people stated Venezuela's our friend - What is a consumer finance account. And I believe what we need to do much better from the United States' viewpoint is to construct that level of trust through a continuous sustained engagement with the area so that people can state, look, we do trust you. What is the difference between accounting and finance.
Mr. Duncan. I personally believe energy is a terrific chance for us, no doubt about that. Let me explore cash laundering and terrorism financing a bit. There is a big push by the U.S. to have U.S. banks sever relationship with Caribbean-based banking institutions. Does that policy work to decrease money laundering and chances for terrorist organizations to access the financial system? Which is probably to Sally. Ms. Yearwood. In a great deal of methods it does the opposite, due to the fact that once U.S. banks move out of the region what you have actually developed in fact is a void and that ends up being filled by other organizations.
So, what is being developed is a situation where there is more chance for terrorist funding or something to fail and somebody to exploit that void. So I would say that the U.S. banks absolutely need to be a crucial and important gamer in the regional money system. Mr. Duncan. I am probably less concerned, and perhaps I shouldn't be, however less concerned about terrorism financing through the Caribbean financial institutions as I am about money laundering. Which of the following can be described as involving direct finance?. We simply saw in Panama, a huge $800 million money laundering scheme, real estate participation, substantial variety of employees included in a genuine company-- still a cash laundering scheme.
Ms. Yearwood. Part of the concern is the understanding of danger versus the reality of the risk. Banks are not leaving the Caribbean due to the fact that there is cash laundering. Banks are leaving the Caribbean because the expenses of compliance are overwhelmingly stacked against the banking system. You have small jurisdictions and for every single account that you are dealing with you have to put a substantial amount of cash into making certain that the cost of-- that the services is tidy. However what we have to perform in impact is create a system where the regulators, the banks, everyone is working together, info is being shared, and when details is passed in between the regulators and the Treasury or the regulators and the banks, people understand where deep spaces are.
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And the issue in the Caribbean is that the economies are little, putting these systems in location costs a lot, but all the Caribbean will tell you that they meet the compliance regulations. And so there is a detach between what is really taking place and what people are saying is happening. I think one of the typical problems is the breakdown between what is going on in overseas financial services and what is going on in banking. And the Panama Papers were really largely linked to the overseas monetary services industry versus the correspondent banking and de-risking issue that is currently being dealt with.
Mr. Duncan. I am presuming that the Federal Government is keeping track of-- in Panama Documents a person is never ever linked in that and start moving financial resources around, in perhaps, the Caribbean nation. I am assuming our Treasury and FBI are monitoring that, I would assume. So I am going to proceed and yield to the ranking member. Mr. Sires. Among the reasons that I supported, or I still support the export of energy from this country is to balance out the impact of Venezuela because basically they were using it for political purpose. You know, if you look at the votes they took at the U.N.
So now Venezuela remains in problem. I think their production is something like 40, half less, and there is a space there that we can help fill and, you understand, we can truly assist in terms of just having a bit more influence on individuals. The other thing that worries me is that on the eastern part of the Caribbean. Generally, we have an Embassy in Barbados and it serves all those islands there. Meanwhile, you have Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil, they all have an existence there. So I was just questioning just how much of a competitive drawback this puts us when we do not have, truly, an existence in the Eastern Caribbean.
