So we will just attempt to survive it and I will attempt to monitor it. All eyes are on Venezuela right now, and Venezuela's impact on the Caribbean nations from energy to trade and other things are very worrying, especially Eastern Caribbean nations. So, I think the concern that I have is, all 6 countries of joe wesley net worth the Company of Eastern Caribbean States are members of the Bolivarian Alliance called ALBA, that includes efforts to promote local cooperation and alleviate hardship; so to what degree have ALBA and Petrocaribe increased Venezuela's influence in the Caribbean? I believe I can address that question enormously.
Mr. Farnsworth. Mr. Chairman, thank you. And I agree it is the pregnant issue if you will of the area. Venezuela is a country that is in collapse. Financially, some are saying it is no longer a democracy. It is a country that has serious and long lasting internal problems which it is going to take years to get beyond. And so, the relationship that Venezuela has actually established with a number of countries of the Caribbean in good times has actually ended up being strained, due to the fact that the largesse that Venezuela has had the ability to honestly hand out 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 present environment, because of the difficulties that Venezuela is having and frankly due to the fact that of the opportunities 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 appropriate and we can offer the same things that you need without the political or without the ideological overhang that you might Go to this website have had formerly - What is a future in finance.
Duncan. Let me ask you something about that. Is there enough trust of the United States for us to step into that space with those nations? I don't know the answer to that. Mr. Farnsworth. Well, I think in the present environment we need to do some groundwork. We require to do some spade work. I imply, look, Petrocaribe was a very effective program and we comprehend why. I suggest, it was prompt, it offered something that the leaders required when they needed it. It was symbolic. It was really, extremely simple to explain to people. I imply, we are getting oil from Venezuela.
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It was on one problem. And I believe in some cases, when the United States engages with the countries of the Caribbean, we have a great deal of well meaning programs and fantastic ideas, but they are diluted, right? Not deluded, but watered down in regards to the effort and the focus. Under Petrocaribe, it was one item quickly explained, highly symbolic, and people stated Venezuela's our pal - How to finance a private car sale. And I think what we require to do better from the United States' point of view is to develop that level of trust through an ongoing continual engagement with the region so that individuals can say, look, we do trust you. What does ear stand for in finance.
Mr. Duncan. I personally believe energy is a great opportunity for us, no doubt about that. Let me delve into money laundering and terrorism financing a little bit. There is a huge push by the U.S. to have U.S. banks sever relationship with Caribbean-based banking institutions. Does that policy work to reduce cash laundering and chances for terrorist organizations to access the financial system? And that is most likely to Sally. Ms. Yearwood. In a great deal of methods it does cancelling wyndham timeshare contract the opposite, since as soon as U.S. banks vacate the region what you have actually produced in fact is a void which ends up being filled by other institutions.
So, what is being developed is a circumstance where there is more chance for terrorist financing or something to fail and somebody to exploit that void. So I would state that the U.S. banks absolutely need to be a crucial and vital gamer in the regional cash system. Mr. Duncan. I am probably less worried, and perhaps I should not be, however less worried about terrorism funding through the Caribbean banks as I have to do with cash laundering. Which of these arguments might be used by someone who supports strict campaign finance laws?. We simply saw in Panama, a substantial $800 million cash laundering plan, realty involvement, big number of workers associated with a genuine business-- still a money laundering plan.
Ms. Yearwood. Part of the concern is the perception of threat versus the reality of the risk. Banks are not leaving the Caribbean because there is cash laundering. Banks are leaving the Caribbean because the costs of compliance are overwhelmingly stacked against the banking system. You have small jurisdictions and for each account that you are dealing with you need to put a big quantity of money into making certain that the expense of-- that the companies is tidy. But what we have to perform in effect is produce a system where the regulators, the banks, everybody is interacting, information is being shared, and when info is passed in between the regulators and the Treasury or the regulators and the banks, people know where deep spaces are.
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And the problem 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 meet the compliance guidelines. And so there is a detach between what is in fact taking place and what people are saying is happening. I believe among the typical complaints is the breakdown between what is going on in overseas monetary services and what is going on in banking. And the Panama Papers were really largely connected to the overseas monetary services market versus the correspondent banking and de-risking issue that is currently being faced.
Mr. Duncan. I am assuming that the Federal Federal government is keeping track of-- in Panama Papers a person is never implicated in that and begin shifting financial resources around, in possibly, the Caribbean nation. I am presuming our Treasury and FBI are keeping track of that, I would assume. So I am going to go on and yield to the ranking member. Mr. Sires. Among the factors that I supported, or I still support the export of energy from this nation is to offset the impact of Venezuela due to the fact that essentially they were using it for political purpose. You know, if you look at the votes they took at the U.N.
So now Venezuela is in trouble. I believe their production is something like 40, half less, and there is a void there that we can assist fill and, you understand, we can truly assist in terms of just having a bit more affect on individuals. The other thing that stresses 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 simply wondering just how much of a competitive disadvantage this puts us when we don't have, truly, a presence in the Eastern Caribbean.