So we will simply attempt to get through it and I will try to monitor it. All eyes are on Venezuela right now, and Venezuela's effect on the Caribbean countries from energy to trade and other things are really concerning, particularly Eastern Caribbean nations. So, I think the concern that I have is, all six countries of the Company of Eastern Caribbean States are members of the Bolivarian Alliance understood as ALBA, which includes efforts to promote local cooperation and relieve poverty; so to what level have ALBA and Petrocaribe increased Venezuela's impact in the Caribbean? I believe I can answer that question tremendously.
Mr. Farnsworth. Mr. Chairman, thank you. And I concur it is the pregnant concern if you will of the area. Venezuela is a country that is in collapse. Economically, some are saying it is no longer a democracy. It is a nation that has serious and lasting internal issues which it is going to take years to get beyond. And so, the relationship that Venezuela has established with a number of countries of the Caribbean in good times has actually become stretched, since the largesse that Venezuela has actually had the ability to honestly distribute or to supply a concessionary on concessionary terms has actually been much constrained in the present environment.
I think what I would state is in the present environment, due to the fact that of the difficulties that Venezuela is having and honestly because 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 a number of years, we have an opportunity to come into the Caribbean as a partner and state, look, you understand the programs and the activities that you might have been doing with Venezuela are no longer appropriate and we can provide the exact same things that you require without the political or without the ideological overhang that you may have had formerly - Which of the following approaches is most suitable for auditing the finance and investment cycle?.
Duncan. Let me ask you something about that. Exists enough trust of the United States for us to enter that space with those countries? I don't know the response to that. Mr. Farnsworth. Well, I believe in the existing environment we require to do some groundwork. We require to do some spade work. I imply, look, Petrocaribe was an extremely successful program and we understand why. I suggest, it was timely, it supplied something that the leaders required when they required it. It was symbolic. It was extremely, really easy to explain to people. I suggest, we are getting oil from Venezuela.
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It was on one concern. And I think often, when the United States engages with the nations of the Caribbean, we have a great deal of well suggesting programs and wonderful ideas, however they are diluted, right? Not misguided, but watered down in regards to the effort and the focus. Under Petrocaribe, it was one item easily explained, extremely symbolic, and people said Venezuela's our pal - Which of the following was eliminated as a result of 2002 campaign finance reforms?. And I believe what we require to do better from the United States' point of view is to construct that level of trust through an ongoing continual engagement with the region so that individuals can say, look, we do trust you. How to finance an investment property.
Mr. Duncan. I personally think energy is a great chance for us, no doubt about that. Let me delve into money laundering and terrorism financing a bit. There is a big push by the U.S. m was to have U.S. banks sever relationship with Caribbean-based banking organizations. Does that policy work to decrease money laundering and chances for terrorist organizations to access the financial system? And that is probably to Sally. Ms. Yearwood. In a lot of methods it does the opposite, due to the fact that once U.S. banks move out of the region what you have produced in truth is a void which becomes filled by other organizations.
So, what is being produced is a circumstance where there is more chance for terrorist funding or something to fail and somebody to exploit that space. So I https://penzu.com/p/338119e5 would state that the U.S. banks definitely require to be an essential and important player in the regional money system. Mr. Duncan. I am probably less worried, and maybe I should not be, but less worried about terrorism funding through the Caribbean banks as I have to do with cash here laundering. What does leverage mean in finance. We just saw in Panama, a big $800 million money laundering plan, real estate participation, huge variety of workers involved in a genuine business-- still a cash laundering plan.
Ms. Yearwood. Part of the problem is the perception of risk versus the reality of the risk. Banks are not leaving the Caribbean since there is cash laundering. Banks are leaving the Caribbean because the expenses of compliance are overwhelmingly stacked versus the banking system. You have little jurisdictions and for every single account that you are dealing with you have to put a big quantity of cash into ensuring that the cost of-- that business is clean. But what we have to do in impact is produce a system where the regulators, the banks, everybody is interacting, info is being shared, and when information is passed 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, but all the Caribbean will inform you that they meet the compliance policies. And so there is a disconnect in between what is actually taking place and what people are stating is happening. I think one of the common complaints is the breakdown in between what is going on in offshore financial services and what is going on in banking. And the Panama Documents were very mostly connected to the offshore monetary services industry versus the correspondent banking and de-risking concern that is currently being dealt with.
Mr. Duncan. I am presuming that the Federal Government is keeping an eye on-- in Panama Papers an individual is never ever implicated because and start shifting funds around, in possibly, the Caribbean nation. I am presuming our Treasury and FBI are keeping track of that, I would presume. So I am going to go ahead and accept 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 influence of Venezuela since generally they were utilizing it for political purpose. You understand, if you look at the votes they took at the U.N.
So now Venezuela is in difficulty. I believe their production is something like 40, half less, and there is a void there that we can help fill and, you know, we can really help in terms of simply having a little bit more influence on people. The other thing that stresses me is that on the eastern part of the Caribbean. Basically, we have an Embassy in Barbados and it serves all those islands there. Meanwhile, you have Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil, they all have a presence there. So I was just wondering just how much of a competitive disadvantage this puts us when we do not have, really, an existence in the Eastern Caribbean.