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Venezuela.- Delcy Rodriguez, the Venezuelan Vice President, stated that the Dominican Republic has an outstanding debt of $350 million from oil purchases. She urged Luis Abinader, the Dominican President, to pay this debt expediently. She accused Abinader of siding with the United States and demanded immediate payment. Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello confirmed these claims.
President Abinader denied these accusations. He clarified that no oil has been imported from Venezuela during his presidency. He affirmed that the last major oil transaction was in 2015, with a minor import of diesel in 2017. Leonardo Aguilera, the President of the Dominican Petroleum Refinery, corroborated this.
The diplomatic relationship between the two nations has been tense since July. This occurred after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pulled diplomats out from the Dominican Republic and other nations after they criticized Venezuela’s electoral process. This strained relationship further when a plane in the Dominican Republic, said to be illegally owned and operated by Maduro’s government, was apprehended by the United States.