ABSTRACT
The Latin American Energy Organization in its tenth meeting, held in Panama in December 1979, presented a formal request that the oil-importing countries of the region be guaranteed "a steady supply of oil at official prices." In the agreement the presidents of the two nations--the Mexican Jose Lopez Portillo and the Venezuelan Luis Herrara Campins--subscribed to a scheme of cooperation open to all oil importers in the region. Herrera Campins in turn announced that Venezuela would give special treatment to Central America and the Caribbean in selling oil. The San Jose agreement is intended to provide stable conditions with regard to oil supply as well as financial benefits to the small countries of Central America and the Caribbean. Except in the case of Guatemala, which has recently announced oil discoveries, the countries affected by the agreement have had to import their total crude oil requirements and have no alternative but to continue to do so in the near future.
