Venezuela Cashes In on Old Oil Debts to Ease Economic Crisis

• Venezuela is collecting on old debts from the Petrocaribe oil assistance program it ran in the 2000s, recently receiving $500 million from Haiti

• Petrocaribe provided subsidized oil to Caribbean countries, some of which paid their bills in goods like black beans or peanuts

• The deals bolstered Venezuela's global stature under Hugo Chavez but are now needed to raise cash amid economic collapse

• Venezuela is working on similar debt cancellation deals with countries like Grenada and Belize

• Venezuela would like to relaunch Petrocaribe but struggles to produce enough oil after years of industry decline