So we will just attempt to survive 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 really concerning, especially Eastern Caribbean nations. So, I guess the concern that I have is, all six countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States are members of the Bolivarian Alliance referred to as ALBA, which consists of efforts to promote regional cooperation and alleviate poverty; so to what level have ALBA and Petrocaribe increased Venezuela's influence in the Caribbean? I think I can respond to that question greatly.
Mr. Farnsworth. Mr. Chairman, thank you. And I concur it is the pregnant problem if you will of the area. Venezuela is a country that is in collapse. Financially, some are stating it is no longer a democracy. It is a nation that has serious and lasting internal problems which it is going to take years to get beyond. And so, the relationship that Venezuela has actually developed with a variety of countries of the Caribbean in great times has become stretched, due to the fact that the largesse that Venezuela has actually had the ability to frankly provide away or to offer a concessionary on concessionary terms has been much constrained in the existing environment.
I think what I would say remains in the existing environment, because of the troubles 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 several years, we have an opportunity to come into the Caribbean as a partner and state, look, you know the programs and the activities that you may have been doing with Venezuela are no longer pertinent and we can supply the very same things that you need without the political or without the ideological overhang that you might have had previously - How to finance a house flip.
Duncan. Let me ask you something about that. Exists enough trust of the United States for us to enter that void with those nations? I do not understand the answer to that. Mr. Farnsworth. Well, I believe in the existing environment we require to do some groundwork. We need to do some spade work. I imply, look, Petrocaribe was a really effective program and we understand why. I imply, it was prompt, it offered Click here! something that the leaders needed when they needed it. It was symbolic. It was extremely, extremely simple to discuss to individuals. I indicate, we are getting oil from Venezuela.
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It was on one concern. And I think sometimes, when the United States engages with the nations of the Caribbean, we have a great deal of well suggesting programs and wonderful ideas, but they are watered down, right? Not misguided, but diluted in regards to the effort and the focus. Under Petrocaribe, it was one item quickly discussed, highly symbolic, and individuals said Venezuela's our pal - How to finance a car from a private seller. And I think what we need to do much better from the United States' point of view is to build that level of trust through an ongoing sustained engagement with the region so that people can state, look, we do trust you. How to finance a franchise with no money.
Mr. Duncan. I personally think energy is a great opportunity for us, no doubt about that. Let me dig into money laundering and terrorism funding 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 lower cash laundering and opportunities for terrorist organizations to access the monetary system? And that is most likely to Sally. Ms. Yearwood. In a lot of methods it does the opposite, since as soon as U.S. banks move out of the region what you have produced in fact is a space which becomes filled by other organizations.
So, what is being produced is a situation where there is more chance for terrorist financing or something to fail and somebody to make use of that space. So I would say that the U.S. banks absolutely require to be a crucial and essential player in the local money system. Mr. Duncan. I am most likely less concerned, and maybe I should not be, however less worried about terrorism financing through the Caribbean monetary institutions as I am about cash laundering. How long can you finance a used car. We simply saw in Panama, a substantial $800 million cash laundering scheme, realty involvement, substantial variety of employees associated with a genuine business-- still a cash laundering scheme.
Ms. Yearwood. Part of the issue is the perception of danger versus the truth of the threat. Banks are not leaving the Caribbean due to the fact that there is money laundering. Banks are leaving the Caribbean since the expenses of compliance are extremely stacked against the banking system. You have little jurisdictions and for each account that you are handling you have to put a huge amount of cash into making certain that the cost of-- that the companies is clean. However what we need to perform in result is create a system where the regulators, the banks, everybody is collaborating, info is being shared, and when details is passed between the regulators and the Treasury or the regulators and the banks, individuals know 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, however all the Caribbean will tell you that they satisfy the compliance regulations. Therefore there is a detach between what is in fact happening and what people are saying is taking place. I think among the typical grievances is the breakdown between what is going on in overseas financial services and what is going on Visit this link in banking. And the Panama Documents were really mostly connected to the overseas financial services market versus the reporter banking and de-risking problem that is presently being faced.
Mr. Duncan. I am presuming that the Federal Federal government is monitoring-- in Panama Documents a person is never implicated because and begin shifting monetary resources around, in possibly, the Caribbean country. I am presuming our Treasury and FBI are keeping an eye on that, I would assume. So I am going to go on and accept the ranking member. Mr. Sires. Among the https://webhitlist.com/profiles/blogs/the-15-second-trick-for-which-of-the-following-was-eliminated-as factors that I supported, or I still support the export of energy from this country is to balance out the impact of Venezuela since essentially they were utilizing it for political function. You understand, if you look at the votes they took at the U.N.
So now Venezuela is in problem. I think their production is something like 40, half less, and there is a void there that we can help fill and, you understand, we can actually help in terms of just having a bit more affect on individuals. The other thing that worries me is that on the eastern part of the Caribbean. Essentially, 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 disadvantage this puts us when we do not have, truly, an existence in the Eastern Caribbean.