Khaberni - The acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez announced on Tuesday that her country received $300 million from a crude oil sale to the United States, indicating that she will use them to support the national currency, the Bolivar, which is continuously deteriorating.
Rodríguez, who succeeded Nicolás Maduro after the American military arrested him on January 3, said that the first installment received from a total $500 million sale conducted by Washington will be invested "to stabilize" the foreign exchange market "to protect the income and purchasing power of workers".
Washington announced last weekend that American President Donald Trump mediated a "historic energy deal" that would "benefit both the American and Venezuelan people".
Since 2018, foreign currency has become a vital element for the Venezuelan economy, when the Bolivar nearly became worthless and was replaced by the US dollar in transactions among Venezuelans.
Since then, the dollar coexisted with the Bolivar, but the scarcity of dollars in the official banking sector due to the American ban on Venezuelan oil for 6 years has led to a massive increase in its value in the black market.
Rodríguez confirmed on Friday the injection of new foreign currencies, saying, "These currencies will reach private banks and are intended for the foreign exchange market mechanism. We must ensure effective management of the currency."
The institution Ecoanalitica stated that the Venezuelan government aims through its intervention in the currency market to gradually reduce the gap between the official dollar rate and the black market rate.
Before Maduro, who had ruled the country for a long time, was arrested, Venezuela had to offer significant discounts on its crude oil to circumnavigate the American sanctions, with China being its largest buyer.
In December, Washington began tightening the noose on these sales by seizing Venezuelan crude oil tankers subject to sanctions.
