The U.S. has assured the United Nations that it will shield a proposed UN-administered Venezuela humanitarian fund from creditors, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday, removing a key obstacle to getting the money flowing.
After months of confusion over the issue, the Biden administration clarified that the fund, agreed to last year between Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government and the country’s opposition, could operate within the U.S. financial system without risk of lenders seizing it to repay debt, the sources told Reuters.
Questions about the vulnerability of contributions to the fund, targeted to be built up with more than $3 billion in currently frozen assets, have delayed creation and implementation of the relief effort for Venezuela.
