While President Hugo Chávez' Government announced settlement of outstanding debt with the World Bank -USD 52 million-, in parallel it has increased domestic debt.

In five months, Venezuelan domestic debt has jumped more than USD 1.2 billion, as the country has launched two issues of Bonds of the South.

In November 2006, Venezuela placed USD 1 billion in Bonds of the South, including USD 500 million in covered interest and capital titles expiring in 2017.

This year, in the second debt issue jointly with Argentina, Venezuela sold USD 750 in covered interest and capital titles expiring in 2019.

Venezuelan debt with the World Bank amounted to a mere 1 percent of overall foreign debt. Seventy-one percent of Venezuelan debt is in bonds, while the rest is with private banks, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Andean Development Corporation.