Venezuela has signed an agreement to directly supply oil to 13 Caribbean countries on preferential terms.
The agreement was signed by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and officials from the Caribbean countries Wednesday at a meeting in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.
Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago did not sign the accord, saying they needed more time to study the deal to create a regional oil initiative known as PetroCaribe.
Under the initiative, Venezuela would directly supply cheaper oil to its Caribbean partners.
Venezuela is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and already has special deals to provide oil on preferential terms to several Caribbean countries.
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.