Venezuelan oil experts Humberto Calderón Berti and José Toro Hardy Monday rejected as "swindle" an oil agreement between Venezuela and Cuba, claiming the deal amounts to a mere "barter."

According to Calderón Berti, under the agreement Venezuela originally undertook to provide 53,000 bpd of oil, a figure that now exceeds 100,000 bpd. "And Venezuela is receiving no payment for these volumes of crude oil exported."

He added that Venezuelans were told Cuba would provide free healthcare services to Venezuela under the agreement, and so far the island has failed to meet this obligation.

Calderón Berti stressed that out of the oil exports from Venezuela to Cuba so far -which amount to USD 2.2 billion- USD 555 million are long-term debt, with a three-year grace period and a 15-year term for repayment, which he described as a bad debt.

"Venezuela will never get this money back. This debt is endorsed by promissory notes issued by the National Bank of Cuba at a 2 percent interest rate which mean nothing and have no value."

He added that Cuba is supposed to pay the remaining USD 1.66 billion by providing free healthcare services in Venezuela.

But according to Toro Hardy, and based on the first addendum to the agreement, dated January 1st, 2000, the institutions, agencies and companies of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela have to pay for Cuban healthcare goods and services, which means that "Cuba is not giving anything."