And when the OAS under a very brave secretary basic, Luis Almagro, attempts to bring the institution towards recognizing that Venezuela is no longer in compliance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter, he is not getting the complete assistance of the hemisphere, and undoubtedly much of the Caribbean Basin has actually not accompanied that. And if you line up the votes, who enacted favor and who stayed away, you can do a quite simple one for one comparison based upon who is a member of Petrocaribe. And so the implication of your concern I believe is spot on, you understand, which is why I think when we speak about the Caribbean in Washington, frequently we consider it in the context of, you know, island nations or programs or social advancement, and all of these are really, extremely important problems.
And the dividends settle down the road when Venezuela itself is in the spotlight of the global community. Then they have friends that they can rely on and it pays dividends for them - How to finance an investment property. So I think that at the end of the day that is a lesson frankly that we can learn, and I think we can build towards reversing that course. Ms. Yearwood. I concur 100 percent with Eric. Venezuela stepped in at a time that was extremely crucial for much of the area and now the region is quite paying the cost, whether it is in financial obligation or other areas 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. A boost in the cost of energy likewise. Ms. Yearwood. Oh, absolutely, definitely. Therefore I think to the point, we are at an important point now with the cost of energy being what it is with the U.S. energy supply going up and the area 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 brand-new kinds of energy is going to make a huge distinction. Mr. Sires. See, I do not think things happen by mishap.
The other issue that I have is the significant increase of China in this area. You know, we appear to be put to a lull of sleep or something because everybody appears to relocate and then we respond. And we do not seem to capture these things up until something like this happens, you know, like Venezuela. So sadly, you understand, considering that I have actually been here we have been pushing-- and I know Mr. Meeks and the other members that are here, you know, this is an essential region for us. It is an essential area for America and we actually must concentrate.
They are going to go through the Panama Canal and they can be found in and they toss money, you understand, at these little nations, how to get rid of a timeshare legally which in truth they can't afford not to accept the cash. So just how much of impact exists now of the Chinese? And I know it is growing, however-- Ms. Yearwood. The Chinese impact, it is in fact extremely interesting to see the way China has sort of entered into the area and the timeshare foreclosure kinds of projects. Sometimes it is a sports arena - How long can i finance a used car. I believe the recent, the Baha Mar ordeal in the Bahamas, you have seen the Chinese Government been available in in a method that the U.S.
If a Chinese developer enters into a nation in the region they have the Chinese financing and the Chinese Government behind them. Mr. Sires. And the staff members. Ms. Yearwood. And the workers. Therefore you have actually efficiently got a bundle that the U.S - How long can you finance a used car. can not-- the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and all sorts of other factors, the U.S. can not complete in terms of the kinds of financial investment that they are able to take in without kind of having to do the due diligence behind it. And it is extremely welcome in a lot of places, but what Baha Mar has shown us is that it can create an extremely tight spot for the countries where they go.
Farnsworth. I think Sally raises an actually intriguing and crucial point in this context. How to finance an investment property. You understand, the Chinese or Venezuelan model is a state-led model, so the capital of the country, the leaders in the country can say this is what we are going to do. We are going to produce Petrocaribe or we are going to build a sports stadium or we are going to declare that we are going to develop these jobs, whereas the U.S. model is private sector-led model. And the detach here is that we are handling smaller economies, island nations, and in contrast of other investment chances in other countries in Latin America, much less around the world, these are economies that normally aren't going to draw that large financial investment except in a couple sectors like tourist like we have actually been talking about. What the onus has to be is to discover methods to clear and develop a smooth economic space between the U.S. and the Caribbean so that private sector capital can work. There are opportunities. Lastly, I would state that the Caribbean is becoming a a lot more intricate area due to the fact that of the modifications in policy toward Cuba, the cross-cutting trade contracts such as CAFTA, et cetera, and we have to believe of the Caribbean now in a wider sense. In regard to Haiti, I believe very crucial is its continued integration with the English-speaking Caribbean, because these are well developed democracies and Click here it is an economic area which holds opportunities for Haiti and there is now rather a great deal of Caribbean financial investment entering into Haiti and vice versa.