And when the OAS under an extremely courageous secretary basic, Luis Almagro, tries to bring the institution toward acknowledging that Venezuela is no longer in compliance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter, he is not getting the complete assistance of the hemisphere, and certainly much of the Caribbean Basin has actually not accompanied that. And if you line up the votes, who voted in favor and who stayed away, you can do a quite easy one for one comparison based on who belongs to Petrocaribe. And so the ramification of your question I believe is area on, you understand, and that is why I think when we talk about the Caribbean in Washington, oftentimes we think about it in the context of, you understand, island nations or programs or social development, and all of these are really, really crucial problems.
And the dividends pay off down the road when Venezuela itself is in the spotlight of the global community. Then they have buddies that they can count on and it pays dividends for them - How long can i finance a used car. So I think that at the end of the day that is a lesson honestly that we can learn, and I believe we can construct toward reversing that course. Ms. Yearwood. I concur 100 percent with Eric. Venezuela stepped in at a time that was very essential for much of the region and now the region is very much paying the price, whether it is in debt or other locations related to votes and other requirements that they do https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/c/meet-the-2020-best-places-to-work/12253/wesley-financial-group-llc.html as a result of the-- Mr.
Increased costs in energy too now. Ms. Yearwood. Sorry? Mr. Sires. A boost in the cost of energy also. Ms. Yearwood. Oh, definitely, absolutely. Therefore I believe to the point, we are at a crucial juncture now with the expense of energy Home page being what it is with the U.S. energy supply going up and the region taking a look at ways to increase sustainable energy, whether it is through gas or getting the area less depending on Petrocaribe and able to make these switches to new kinds of energy is going to make a substantial difference. Mr. Sires. See, I do not believe things happen by accident.
The other concern that I have is the considerable increase of China in this area. You understand, we seem to be put to a lull of sleep or something because everyone seems to move in and then we react. And we don't seem to catch these things up until something like this happens, you know, like Venezuela. So unfortunately, you understand, considering that I have been here we have actually been pushing-- and I know Mr. Meeks and the other members that are here, you know, this is an important region for us. It is a crucial area for America and we actually need to focus.
They are going to go through the Panama Canal and they are available in and they toss money, you understand, at these small countries, which in reality they can't manage not to accept the cash. So how much of impact is there now of the Chinese? And I understand it is growing, however-- Ms. Yearwood. The Chinese impact, it is actually very fascinating to see the way China has actually sort of entered the area and the kinds of jobs. Sometimes it is a sports stadium - How to finance an investment property. I think the recent, the Baha Mar ordeal in the Bahamas, you have actually seen the Chinese Federal government can be found in in such a way that the U.S.
If a Chinese developer enters into a country in the area they have the Chinese financing and the Chinese Government behind them. Mr. Sires. And the staff members. Ms. Yearwood. And the staff members. And so you have efficiently got a plan that the U.S - What is a consumer finance company. can not-- the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and all sorts of other reasons, the U.S. can not compete in regards to the kinds of financial investment that they have the ability to take in without kind of needing to do the due diligence behind it. And it is really welcome in a lot of locations, however what Baha Mar has actually revealed us is that it can produce a really tight spot for the countries where they go.
Farnsworth. I believe Sally raises a truly intriguing and important point in this context. What happened to yahoo finance portfolios. You know, the Chinese or Venezuelan design is a state-led design, so the capital of the nation, the leaders in the nation can state this is what we are going to do. We are going to produce Petrocaribe or we are going https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/04/23/2021107/0/en/WESLEY-FINANCIAL-GROUP-REAP-AWARDS-FOR-WORKPLACE-EXCELLENCE.html to construct a sports stadium or we are going to declare that we are going to establish these jobs, whereas the U.S. design is private sector-led design. And the disconnect here is that we are dealing with smaller sized economies, island nations, and in comparison of other investment opportunities in other countries in Latin America, much less worldwide, these are economies that generally aren't going to draw that large financial investment except in a couple sectors like tourism like we have actually been talking about. What the onus needs to be is to find ways to clear and develop a seamless financial area between the U.S. and the Caribbean so that private sector capital can work. There are opportunities. Last but not least, I would say that the Caribbean is becoming a a lot more complex location due to the fact that of the modifications in policy toward Cuba, the cross-cutting trade agreements such as CAFTA, et cetera, and we need to think about the Caribbean now in a broader sense. In regard to Haiti, I believe really crucial is its continued combination with the English-speaking Caribbean, because these are well developed democracies and it is an economic location which holds chances for Haiti and there is now quite a great deal of Caribbean investment entering into Haiti and vice versa.