Venezuela tells embassies to cut costs, renegotiate rents
Venezuela Tells Diplomats to Tighten Belts as Money Runs Out
By Fabiola Zerpa
November 22, 2017, 10:07 AM CST
The cash crunch afflicting Venezuela, which has already led to defaults on some bonds, shortages of basic goods at home and IOUs scribbled to service providers, has now come knocking on the doors of the socialist nation’s consulates and embassies around the world.
All of Venezuela’s diplomatic missions globally are being urged to renegotiate rent agreements with the goal of achieving “substantial savings,” Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said in an internal memo dated Nov. 15 obtained by Bloomberg. A legal framework for doing so is being drafted under the title “Manual for the Procedure of Renting Diplomatic Headquarters,” the memo said.
“We’re evaluating the situation of rents for all of our diplomatic missions to obtain substantial savings,” Arreaza said in the memo, entitled real estate rentals, that was sent to all foreign staff. “We encourage you to begin a renegotiation of your rent with the owner of the property. If a renegotiation isn’t successful, you’ll be expected to deepen your efforts in the search for a more viable -- and affordable -- option to support the savings of the republic’s financial resources.”
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-22/venezuela-tells-diplomats-to-tighten-belts-as-money-runs-out?cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-politics
Wonder is we can expect the Venezuelan embassies and consulates to start operating out of kiosks in outlet malls? They certainly aren't doing much more than shuffling paper these days, now that Maduro has shut down issuing new passports to citizens.
