US$10 million in missing Venezuela money – what if it’s
all just a big mix up? That’s what the Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington
believes. Elrington is at the center of it because his Ministry received the
letter from the Venezuelans asking for an accounting of US$20 million, not US$10
million that the former government had announced. And today Elrington said that
it must be a mistake – because he can’t imagine that the last government
was so corrupt. He says they have written to the Venezuelans asking for a clarification.
Hon. Wilfred ‘Sedi’ Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs
“We have sent off a letter of inquiry to the Venezuelans. The letter
that came really was asking us for an accounting of the $20 million that was
in fact given to Belize. But I am not 100% certain that in fact the Venezuelans
did send the entire $20 million. I will be candid with you, I am not certain
and it is for that reason that we have asked the CEO in our department, a very
competent career diplomat, Alexis Rosado, to inquire of the Venezuelans whether
they had actually disbursed the entire $20 million. Once we get a response from
them with respect to that, then we will know exactly what the situation is.”
Jules Vasquez,
So it may be an error?
Hon. Wilfred ‘Sedi’ Elrington,
“No, it may be that in fact they did give us $20 million but they
have only disbursed so far $10 million and they will be disbursing the remaining
$10 million at some other time once we give them an accounting of how this $10
million went. That is a possibility and I am prepared to think in those terms,
rather than assume that in fact there was corruption. I know the tendency is
to assume that this is corruption and somebody has gone off with it but I don’t
think anybody will be so, I mean heartless and so bold to go off with US$10
million just before general elections. Notwithstanding the atrocities committed
by the last administration, I still can’t believe. I personally just can’t
believe that anybody would be so crass as to do something like that.”
And while Elrington is giving his predecessors the benefit of the doubts,
a release from the PUP yesterday made no denial of the claim. While all the
speculation swirls, the bottom line is that until Financial Secretary Joe Waight
gets some word from the Venezuelans, it’s all up in the air. And when
we checked this evening, the Venezuelans had still not responded.
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