And when the OAS under a really bold secretary basic, Luis Almagro, attempts to bring the institution towards acknowledging that Venezuela is no longer in compliance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter, he is not getting the complete support of the hemisphere, and indeed much of the Caribbean Basin has actually not accompanied that. And if you line up the votes, who voted in favor and who abstained, you can do a quite simple one for one comparison based on who is a member of Petrocaribe. Therefore the ramification of your concern I think is area on, you know, and that is why I think when we discuss the Caribbean in Washington, usually we think of it in the context of, you know, island nations or programs or social development, and all of these are really, really important issues.
And the dividends pay off down the roadway when Venezuela itself is in the spotlight of the global neighborhood. Then they have buddies that they can rely on and it pays dividends for them - Accounting vs finance which is harder. So I think that at the end of the day that is a lesson honestly that we can find out, and I believe we can build toward reversing that course. Ms. Yearwood. I concur 100 percent with Eric. Venezuela actioned in at a time that was really crucial for much of the region and now the area is really much paying the cost, whether it owes money or other locations associated with votes and other requirements that they do as a result of the-- Mr.
Increased costs in energy too now. Ms. Yearwood. Sorry? Mr. Sires. An increase in the expense of energy also. Ms. Yearwood. Oh, absolutely, absolutely. And so I believe to the point, we are at an important point now with the expense of energy being what it is with the U.S. energy supply increasing and reviews on wesley financial group the region taking a look at ways to increase sustainable energy, whether it is through gas or getting the area less based on Petrocaribe and able to make these switches to new types of energy is going to make a substantial distinction. Mr. Sires. See, I don't think things occur by mishap.
The other issue 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 everybody seems to move in and after that we react. And we do not seem to capture these things up until something like this happens, you understand, like Venezuela. So unfortunately, you understand, because I have actually been here we have actually been pressing-- and I understand Mr. Meeks and the other members that are here, you know, this is an important area for us. It is an essential area for America and we really should focus.
They are going to go through the Panama Canal and they are available in and they toss cash, you know, at these little countries, which in reality they can't manage not to accept the cash. So just how much of impact exists now of the Chinese? And I understand it is growing, but-- Ms. Yearwood. The Chinese impact, it is really really fascinating to watch the method China has sort of entered into the region and the types of jobs. Sometimes it is a sports arena - How long can you finance a used car. I believe the current, the Baha Mar debacle in the Bahamas, you have seen the Chinese Government come in in a manner that the U.S.
If a Chinese designer enters into a nation in the area they have the Chinese financing and the Chinese Government behind them. Mr. Sires. And the staff members. Ms. Yearwood. And the employees. And so you have successfully got a package that the U.S - How to finance an engagement ring. can not-- the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and all sorts of other factors, the U.S. can not timeshares companies complete in terms of the types 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 extremely welcome in a lot of places, however what Baha Mar has revealed us is that it can create an extremely tight spot for the countries where they go.
Farnsworth. I think Sally raises a really interesting and crucial point in this context. How to owner finance a home. You understand, the Chinese or Venezuelan model is a state-led design, so the capital of the country, 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 to construct a sports stadium or we are going to state that we are going to develop these tasks, whereas the U.S. design is private sector-led model. And the disconnect here is that we are dealing with smaller sized economies, island countries, and in comparison of other investment opportunities in other nations in Latin America, much less around the world, these are economies that typically aren't going to draw that big investment except in a couple sectors like tourism like we have actually been discussing. What the onus has to be is to discover ways to clear and establish a seamless financial space between the U.S. and the Caribbean so that personal Click here to find out more sector capital can work. There are chances. Finally, I would state that the Caribbean is becoming a far more intricate area because of the changes in policy toward Cuba, the cross-cutting trade arrangements such as CAFTA, et cetera, and we have to think of the Caribbean now in a wider sense. In regard to Haiti, I think really important is its continued integration with the English-speaking Caribbean, since these are well developed democracies and it is an economic area which holds chances for Haiti and there is now quite a lot of Caribbean investment entering into Haiti and vice versa.