Venezuelan Government in Debt Default

This would be cause for a responsible government to resign, but

the power hungry Maduro will see it as a need for more power.

The people are hungry and in need of medications and the

lunatic responsible for it is concerned about himself.

By Danielle Haynes 

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (R) and Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami (L)

attend a ceremony near the Supreme Tribunal of Justice in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 15.

Standard & Poor's said the country is officially in default after it failed to make a debt payment.

File Photo by Miguel Gutierrez/EPA

UPI -- Venezuela and its state-run oil company, PDVSA, are in default after falling behind on debt payments, multiple credit agencies declared.

Standard & Poor's Global Ratings, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings declared the South American country in default all within a period of 24 hours, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

S&P said Venezuela failed to make $200 million in payments on its foreign debt.

S&P defined Venezuela as being in "selective default," when a country fails to make a debt payment when it's due. The $200 million payment was due Sunday. The country also is overdue on about $420 million in bond payments but a 30-day grace payment has not yet expired on that amount.

Venezuela owes an estimated $140 billion in external debt.

Caracas officials met with investors Tuesday in an attempt to renegotiate the country's debt, BBC News reported. Investors said, though, the government of President Nicholas Maduro did not make any proposal on how to restructure its debt.

Vice President Tareck El Aissami read a statement during the meeting blaming U.S.-imposed sanctions on Venezuela. In July, the U.S. Treasury specifically named El Aissami and a dozen other current and former officials in sanctions for allegedly being involved in Maduro's violent suppression of protests, corruption and currency manipulation.

US sanctions on Venezuela do not prohibit the export of their oil but are focussed on access to capital markets like bonds making it difficult for Maduro to keep floating checks.