Venezuela state power company declared in default on debt

CARACAS, Venezuela – The Venezuelan state-run power company has defaulted on a $650 million bond, the bond’s trustee says, compounding the nation’s financial woes ahead of an important meeting to discuss restructuring its debt.

Wilmington Trust said in a statement Friday that a 30-day grace period had expired a day prior, and it had not received the funds needed from Corpoelec to make an overdue interest payment. Corpoelec said on Twitter it had transferred the funds two days ago but that “operational changes” had affected the transaction.

The declaration of default comes as President Nicolas Maduro prepares to attend a meeting Monday in Caracas with Venezuela’s creditors to discuss restructuring the nation’s debt.

The socialist leader said he wants to seek debt relief to get around U.S. financial sanctions that he blames for aggravating the nation’s economic crisis.