CARACAS: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday promised to pay back billions of dollars in government debt to disgruntled importers, after widespread shortages of basic goods helped fuel months of deadly anti-government protests.
"We are going to immediately pay back 30 percent of (the total hard currency owed to importers) as a way to move forward on these commitments," Maduro told a gathering of business leaders.
Importers say they are owed $13 billion, and that the government's slow repayment is a key factor in shortages of items as basic as toilet paper that leave many Venezuelans spending hours in lines. Maduro did not put a specific number on what the government would repay or how soon.
Venezuela -- which sits atop the world's largest proven crude oil reserves -- has Latin America's highest inflation rate -- 57 percent. Maduro's heavily state-led government inherited from late leader Hugo Chavez a decade-old system of hard currency controls.
Last year, Maduro's government fell behind in its delivery to importers of the currency they need to buy -- mostly abroad -- basic products, 25 percent of which are currently in short supply.
Meanwhile Venezuela in recent months has clashed with several international airlines, including Air Canada, over billions of dollars the carriers say they were owed by Caracas and not paid.
Anti-government protests have rattled Venezuela since February, leaving at least 41 people dead and more than 600 injured, with opposing sides trading blame for the violence.
Protesters are angry over soaring crime, shortages and rampant inflation, among other woes such as spiraling violent crime.
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