Haiti hosts conference for Venezuelan pact members

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) Diplomats from more than a dozen countries began gathering in Haiti on Friday to work on creation of a new economic bloc based on the Venezuelan-led Petrocaribe accord.

Leaders of the 18-nation group agreed in June to establish the trade group and details of how it would work remain sketchy, but Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has said it would "go beyond the false concepts of free trade" to stimulate exchanges in transport, communications, tourism and trade.

The late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez oversaw the creation of Petrocaribe in 2005 with the aim of countering U.S. influence and unifying the regional oil industry with Venezuela at the helm. It provides hundreds of millions of dollars each year in deeply discounted oil to its 18 members in the Caribbean and Central America.

Petrocaribe aid is especially popular in impoverished Haiti, whose government depends heavily on foreign aid. Haitian officials favor the Venezuelan money because it goes straight into the state coffers, instead of into the hands of private contractors or relief groups.

The Haitian government has used the money to repave roads and build silos to store food and construct bridges in the countryside, according to official records.

Haiti currently owes $1.1 billion, an amount that is to be paid over the next 25 years.

Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe has said his country will repay the debt by exporting food but it's not clear how Haiti can do that. The country has long struggled to feed itself and half of its food is imported.