Venezuela reports $15.6 billion in oil, mining revenue this year
Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, said her country received $15.6 billion in oil and mining revenue from January through November. It was not clear whether she meant the beginning of the month or through Thursday.
Meanwhile, the United States disclosed that it had managed more than $12 billion in Venezuelan revenue through September.
Rodríguez presented the financial report through the government's Transparencia Soberana platform, which recorded $14.86 billion in expenditures and a remaining balance of approximately $743 million.
According to government figures, $15.148 billion, or 97.1% of total revenue, came from oil and petroleum product sales. The remainder came from other transactions involving natural resources and fuels.
Rodríguez said the government allocated $14.71 billion to public-sector salaries and pensions, while $150.5 million covered government operating expenses.
In a post on X, Rodríguez said that 99 out of every 100 dollars received from oil and mining activities went toward salaries and pensions. However, that percentage applies to reported expenditures, not total revenue, of which those payments accounted for approximately 94.3%.
After months without updates to the Transparencia Soberana platform, Venezuela released its financial figures on the same day the U.S. State Department disclosed information about Washington's management of revenue from Venezuelan exports after the Jan. 3 capture of Nicolás Maduro.
According to a report prepared by KPMG for the U.S. government, a Washington-controlled custody account received $12.26 billion between January and Sept. 30, primarily from oil exports and other natural resources.
The report said Washington disbursed more than 98% of the funds, primarily through foreign exchange transactions requested by the Central Bank of Venezuela. As of Sept. 30, $168.56 million remained under U.S. custody for future authorized disbursements.
The funds also flowed into sectors including food, consumer goods, business services and agriculture, according to the report.
Venezuelan oil revenue has been channeled through a U.S.-controlled custody account since Maduro's capture in Caracas. Under the arrangement, the Central Bank of Venezuela must request the release of funds from the U.S. State and Treasury departments on behalf of Rodríguez's interim government and explain how the money will be used.
A Nov. 10 investigation by The New York Times, based on the KPMG report, found that international commodity traders Trafigura and Vitol accounted for 61% of deposits into the U.S.-controlled account through September.
The newspaper also identified oil operations using separate financial arrangements, including those involving U.S. oil company Chevron and Venezuelan producer NABEP. As a result, the custody account does not necessarily reflect all of Venezuela's export revenue.
The Venezuelan and U.S. financial reports cover different periods and use different accounting categories, preventing a direct comparison of their figures.
Venezuela's Transparencia Soberana platform also states that its records cover only the Social Protection Fund and the National Infrastructure Fund, excluding other government programs.
The Central Bank of Venezuela reported Thursday that the country's economy grew 7.42% in the third quarter of 2026, marking 22 consecutive quarters of expansion.
The central bank said economic growth was driven by non-oil activity, which expanded 6.28%.
World Rally Championship plans return to Argentina in 2028
Nov. 12 (UPI) -- The World Rally Championship announced Thursday plans to return to Córdoba, Argentina, in 2028 under a multiyear agreement with the provincial government, with a candidate event scheduled for next year.
The WRC said the agreement with Córdoba Gov. Martín Llaryora paves the way for Rally Argentina to rejoin the championship for the first time since 2019.
Cars that compete are heavily modified, road-legal compact hatchback or crossover engineered for extreme off-road speed and durability.
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, motorsport's governing body, said inclusion in the calendar would require a successful candidate rally and confirmation by its World Motor Sport Council.
The three-day evaluation event will take place in Córdoba in March 2027 as part of the FIA CODASUR Rally Championship, South America's regional series.
FIA delegates will assess sporting operations, safety and medical arrangements, infrastructure and organizational capabilities, including proposed stages and service park facilities.
Former world rally champion Petter Solberg welcomed the announcement in a social media post.
"Rallying there was always a highlight throughout my career," Solberg wrote. He praised the stages, atmosphere and fans, adding that he continued to receive support from Argentina. I can't wait to be back!"
Officials will work with the Automóvil Club Argentino and local organizers to identify improvements needed to meet world championship standards. A successful assessment would make the rally eligible for inclusion in the WRC calendar for 2028.
Preparations include a proposed WRC Arena around Córdoba's Mario Alberto Kempes stadium, combining facilities where teams service their cars with entertainment for spectators.
Planners also are considering bringing back El Cóndor, one of the gravel stages associated with Rally Argentina, which was first held in 1980.
Llaryora presented the return Thursday at Córdoba's provincial government headquarters, local broadcaster El Doce reported. He said the competition would attract tourists and generate jobs, while provincial sports officials said negotiations began in 2024.
"Argentina has always held a special place in the history of the WRC," promoter CEO Éric Boullier said in the championship's announcement.
Chile's Kast struggles to end nationwide truckers' strike
SANTIAGO, Chile, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Chilean President José Antonio Kast is struggling to end a nationwide truckers' strike over rising fuel prices as the protests entered their third day Thursday, disrupting highways and threatening agricultural exports.
Hundreds of trucks have staged partial highway blockades across the country, while negotiations between transport unions and the government have failed to bring an end to the demonstrations.
The dispute erupted over another fuel price increase scheduled for Thursday, the sixth consecutive hike since late July. In March, Kast's administration modified Chile's Fuel Price Stabilization Mechanism, reducing government intervention to cushion price increases and driving up transportation costs.
Under pressure from protesters, Kast proposed legislation to reverse the latest fuel price increase and freeze prices for 90 days.
The measure is intended to end the demonstrations, but protesters have demanded a freeze that lasts at least four months.
The government submitted a bill Thursday for expedited consideration that would freeze gasoline and diesel prices until Feb. 3.
The proposal, developed after agreements with some trucking associations, would authorize the Finance Ministry to restore fuel prices to their Nov. 4 levels, before the latest increase of nearly 40 Chilean pesos, or about 4 cents, per liter.
It also would allow prices to fall if international costs decline and extend fuel tax benefits for freight transportation companies through December.
The measure would cost an estimated $550 million, financed through Treasury assets.
However, the government faces another challenge: divisions among the protesters.
The demonstrations began Tuesday after a call from one trucking association. The following day, groups that represent intercity bus operators, taxi drivers and school transportation providers joined the protests. Many are microbusinesses and small and medium-sized companies.
But the movement lacks a unified leadership structure and includes organizations with different demands and negotiating strategies, complicating government efforts to resolve the dispute.
Juan Araya, president of Chile's National Confederation of Truck Owners and one of the country's leading freight transportation representatives, on Thursday questioned participation of other sectors, but also expressed disappointment with Kast's administration.
"Ninety percent of truckers voted for President Kast. People had very high hopes, and this is hitting us hard," Araya told Radio Infinita.
Socialist Party Sen. Paulina Vodanovic criticized the government's response, saying its measures came only after transportation operators and other sectors already suffered the consequences of higher fuel costs.
"Unfortunately, all the government's announcements always come late and have fine print. Just look at the reaction on social media and from truckers themselves and the people affected. This does little to solve anything," she said.
Vodanovic said the economic impact was particularly severe for small transportation operators and people who depend on their vehicles for their livelihoods.
"People are desperate. We've seen it in recent days. The truckers giving interviews are not the big trucking company owners. They are people who own one or two trucks and are desperate, just like school transportation operators and taxi drivers," she said.
Gonzalo Arenas, deputy minister of the General Secretariat of Government and a government spokesperson, defended the administration's proposals and criticized trucking leaders for deciding not to continue negotiations.
The demonstrations have caused road blockades and disrupted access to some of Chile's main seaports, which handle exports including fruit, salmon and wine.
The disruptions have also raised concerns in the agricultural sector, particularly over potential delays in fruit shipments as Chile enters its cherry harvest and export season. Cherries are among the country's major agricultural exports to China.
Antonio Walker, president of Chile's National Agricultural Society, warned in a public statement that transportation disruptions were adding to existing pressures on the country's agricultural industry, including U.S. tariffs, adverse weather conditions and rising production costs.
"With the blockades, transport operators are worsening the damage to an agricultural sector already facing a difficult season. U.S. tariffs will cost the sector $800 million over three years," Walker said.
"Added to that are declining production due to El Niño and rising fuel, energy and freight costs because of the war in the Persian Gulf."
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Antigua changed Cuba vote after U.S. warning, prime minister says
Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Antigua and Barbuda reversed its decision to support a United Nations resolution calling for an end to the U.S. embargo against Cuba after the State Department warned that voting in favor could jeopardize negotiations over U.S. visa restrictions, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said.
Browne disclosed the decision during his weekly radio program, according to Antigua News, which reported his remarks Tuesday.
The prime minister said his government had initially decided to support the resolution, but reconsidered after receiving a call from U.S. officials.
"We had decided to support Cuba on a resolution recently and changed our position because we had a call from the State Department advising us that they're making progress in the negotiations and if we supported Cuba, that it would undermine the negotiations, so we changed our position," Browne said, according to Antigua News.
Browne said his government had initially decided to vote in favor of the resolution, but instructed its ambassador to the United Nations to abstain after receiving the warning from Washington.
However, Antigua and Barbuda was ultimately recorded as absent during the Oct. 28 vote, rather than as an abstention. Browne said he did not know why the ambassador had failed to participate.
The U.N. General Assembly adopted the resolution 130-17, with 25 abstentions. The nonbinding measure, introduced every year, called for an end to the longstanding U.S. economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba.
Antigua and Barbuda had supported a similar resolution in 2025, according to the country's voting record cited by the Antigua Observer.
Browne's disclosure comes as his government seeks to reverse U.S. visa restrictions that have complicated travel for citizens of the Caribbean nation.
During the radio program, a woman told the prime minister that she could not travel to the United States to visit her ailing mother because her visa had expired and obtaining a new one remained difficult.
Browne said his government continued negotiating with Washington and questioned the justification for the restrictions, citing the countries' longstanding diplomatic relationship.
In August, Antigua and Barbuda formally requested that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio review the restrictions and the Visa Bond Program that affects its citizens.
According to a government statement, Ambassador Ronald Sanders delivered a diplomatic note to Rubio after Browne had written directly to President Donald Trump to request a review.
The government said it had implemented measures addressing U.S. concerns about identity verification, document security, screening and compliance with immigration requirements.
Browne also suggested that Washington's position could be related to Antigua and Barbuda's Citizenship by Investment Program, which allows qualifying foreign investors to obtain citizenship through financial contributions.
He said his government had informed the European Union of its willingness to suspend the program, while requesting an additional 3 1/2 years to phase it out.
The prime minister said he remained uncertain whether the citizenship program was the only reason for the U.S. restrictions.
The dispute comes amid divisions among Caribbean governments over Washington's policy toward Cuba.
During the October vote, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname supported the resolution. Jamaica, Haiti and Guyana abstained, while Trinidad and Tobago voted against it.
In addition to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and St. Lucia were recorded as absent.
The resolution received significantly less support than in 2025, when 165 countries voted in favor.
Browne said his government would continue diplomatic efforts to resolve the visa restrictions that affect its citizens.
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