In response to the brutal invasion of Ukraine, a round of sanctions imposed by Western countries now weighs heavily on Russia, President Vladimir Putin and several oligarchs. But measures aimed at Russia’s economy and banking system are expected to have repercussions beyond Europe and punish Moscow’s allies in Latin America.
The White House’s White House Chief of Staff Juan Gonzalez said last week that Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua would feel the impact of sanctions over their economic ties with Russia.
Especially after the recent decision of the European Union to exclude seven Russian financial institutions from the international payment network SWIFT.
“In Latin America, banking sanctions will affect some businesses more directly,” said Ryan Berg, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
An example pointed out by Berg is the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA. “They have accounts in Russia and may find it difficult to move money and make financial transactions now,” Berg added.
After receiving a series of sanctions from the United States during the presidency of Donald Trump, Venezuela turned to Russia to circumvent the measures and continue to sell its oil through intermediaries.
Funding is running out
In 2019, when the country was in the midst of an acute political crisis, the administration of Nicolas Maduro even moved the PDVSA offices in Lisbon to Moscow, in a move to further secure its assets and maintain its operations in Europe.
But sanctions stemming from the Russian invasion could force Venezuela to find a new way to resume its oil sales.
“Venezuela has chosen the Russian financial system and adopted a complex dynamic, and sanctions could affect its financial engineering and trading capacity,” said Venezuelan analyst Asdrubal Oliveros, who heads a financial firm led by Ka.
“These measures could hamper Venezuela’s cash flow, even though the company has projected higher revenues for the local oil industry this year. Sanctions may continue to escalate and the Venezuelan government will have to find new structures to offset the impact. their.”
The total value of Venezuela’s assets abroad is unknown as the government has not released any data. However, the sharp collapse of the Russian ruble last week also affects the amount of money the Latin American country has stored in Russian bank accounts.
“Revenues from oil sales are converted into dollars or euros and later transferred to Venezuela. This momentum and the ban on the Russian financial system by the SWIFT network could prevent Venezuela from accessing cash from oil sales.” Oliveros added.
Defense and agriculture
Although most of its strong trading partners are in Europe and Asia, Russia has found fertile ground in Latin America to strengthen its military ties through arms and aid.
In December, Nicaragua and Russia signed an agreement to attract investors and promote the application of nuclear technologies in the fields of energy, agriculture and medicine.
Similarly, last month Maduro pledged his government’s support for Russia against NATO and strengthened ties with Russia by signing new agreements on military and energy co-operation between the two countries.
However, Russia’s military sales are not exempt from sanctions.
“It is possible that companies in Russia that produce military equipment may not be able to sell to Venezuela, Nicaragua or Cuba,” Berg said.
He stressed that these transactions affect not only large markets but also the maintenance of spare parts and equipment.
The Latin American agricultural sector will also be affected by these measures, Berg added. With Russia being a major global fertilizer producer, the war in Ukraine and economic constraints will indirectly affect agricultural forces in Latin America, such as Brazil and Argentina.
Edited by: Arthur Sullivan
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