Mesa, Chávez sign 45,000 liter diesel deal

Bolivia's President Carlos Mesa and Venezuela's Hugo Chávez signed Wednesday an agreement for Bolivia to buy 45,000 liters of Venezuelan diesel, Bolivia's government news service reported. The agreement, known as the Caracas Convention, was signed at the III South American Summit in Cuzco, Peru. Bolivia will pay 75% of the total costs within 90 days and the other 25% over 15 years. The economic development committee of Bolivia's congress barred fuel wholesalers from importing the diesel, because using their services would lead to higher costs for the end-user, newspaper La Prensa reported. State oil company YPFB would instead deliver the fuel to retailers, despite the fact that the terminals at Arica port in northern Chile which Bolivia uses to import fuel belong not to YPFB but to the private sector's Transredes. Bolivia has turned to Venezuelan diesel to address its shortages of the fuel. Bolivia needs an additional 25,000 liters a month to make up its shortfall, according to reports.