Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Venezuela and Paraguay opened a process to restore diplomatic and consular relations during Paraguayan President Santiago Peña’s visit to Venezuela on Saturday, September 19. His meeting with Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez concluded with the signing of a framework for cooperation, while Paraguay’s longstanding oil debt to PDVSA remained unresolved.
The rapprochement comes after years in which diplomatic ruptures and Paraguay’s support for US-backed efforts to remove President Nicolás Maduro stranded the relations, and Paraguay refused to repay Venezuela the money owed to the Venezuelan state oil company.
The debt stems from fuel supplied by PDVSA to its Paraguayan counterpart, Petropar, in 2009. The debt has previously been reported at more than $300 million. Orinoco Tribune’s November 2023 coverage put it above $360 million. Current Paraguayan officials cite approximately $300 million while disputing the interest calculation. The final amount remains contested.
In 2019, the then president of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benítez broke relations with Caracas and supported the US-backed “interim presidency” of Juan Guaidó. In November that year, members of Abdo’s administration held talks with Guaidó’s representatives over a proposal to reduce Paraguay’s debt.
Those negotiations became a corruption scandal in January 2021. Reporting identified Abdo’s minister of government, Juan Ernesto Villamayor; Guaidó’s asset-recovery commissioner, Javier Troconis; and Argentinian lawyer Sebastián Vidal as participants in those negotiations. Draft terms envisaged forgiving half the debt recognized by Paraguay and paying Vidal a commission exceeding $26 million, igniting the scandal.
Villamayor subsequently confirmed the contacts and proposed a 50% reduction, but said that no agreement was concluded because of doubts over the representatives’ legal authority.
In July 2023, before taking office, Santiago Peña expressed willingness to pay, invoking financing terms that, according to him, were for 15 years at 2% interest. In November 2023, Peña and President Maduro agreed to restore diplomatic and consular relations. Venezuela severed ties again in January 2025 after Peña claimed that far-right opposition figure Edmundo González was the winner of Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, in a clear act of interventionism.
Ahead of Saturday’s visit, Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano reiterated on Friday, September 18, that Paraguay recognizes the debt but challenges the interest demanded. He said the difference concerned charges that Paraguay considers outside the commercial agreement and that is part of a legal procedure being discussed in the International Chamber of Commerce’s arbitration process in Paris, as reported by news outlets in Venezuela.
ABC Color in Paraguay reported that Ramírez also left open the possibility of resuming fuel purchases from Venezuela, while stressing that the visit would begin talks rather than immediately reopen embassies. Paraguayan outlet RDN linked the approach to rising fuel prices and the search for additional suppliers. No new purchase agreement has been confirmed.
On Saturday, Peña arrived at Maiquetía airport with his wife, Leticia Ocampos, and was received by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia. Delcy Rodríguez subsequently welcomed him to the Simón Bolívar Hall at Miraflores Palace.
The talks covered trade, consular services, energy cooperation and outstanding financial commitments. According to Telesur, the meeting emphasized mutual respect, sovereignty, equality between states and peoples’ right to self-determination.
Venezuela’s VP Blasts Paraguay’s President for Serving US Interests & Not Honoring Debts
Plasencia and Ramírez then signed a joint document setting out a path for renewed cooperation and the progressive restoration of relations.
Afterward, Peña declared that the discussions also addressed economic strengthening, Venezuela’s institutional process and cooperation against transnational organized crime. In remarks reported by the Paraguayan media Última Hora, he confirmed that dialogue had begun toward an eventual restoration of diplomatic and consular ties.
The announcements included no repayment schedule, agreed interest calculation or new oil-supply contract. Recovering the money owed to the Venezuelan people would remain an outstanding issue in the renewed relationship.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/SC
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