Caracas, June 17 (.).- The Government of Venezuela rejected this Monday the “dispossession process” of Citgo, the Venezuelan oil company located in the United States, while saying that it will not recognize the “forced sale” of the company , considering that economic guarantees, due process and the right to defense are not met.
“The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reiterates that it does not and will not recognize the forced sale of Citgo, which is carried out in flagrant disregard of the economic guarantees, due process and the right to defense guaranteed by any civilized nation,” he said. a statement from the Venezuelan Government, published in X by the executive vice president, Delcy Rodríguez.
He ratified that he will continue to adopt “all the measures at his disposal” to avoid the “consummation of the definitive dispossession of Citgo”, while – he said – he reserves the exercise of actions against any company or individual that acquires the shares, facilitates the purchase or negotiate with the oil company’s assets.
“The Venezuelan people will know how to respond, in great national unity, to reject this brazen theft by the Government of the United States of America together with the criminals of Venezuelan extremism,” he added.
The Administration of Nicolás Maduro maintained that, together with the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela, he was excluded from the judicial sale of Citgo and was prevented from defending his rights before the US courts, in “complicity” – he continued – with the anti-Chavistas Juan Guaidó, Leopoldo López and Julio Borges.
On May 27, the opposition Antonio Ecarri, candidate for the Presidency of Venezuela, asked the president of the United States, Joe Biden, to postpone any action against Citgo, until whoever wins the planned presidential elections in the South American nation takes power. for July 28.
Through a letter, the Venezuelan recalled that Citgo runs the risk of being seized due to the country’s non-payments, a situation in which a group of creditors has seizure orders that, to be executed, require authorization from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
For this reason, as well as the restrictions implied by the sanctions imposed on Venezuela and because US institutions do not recognize the legitimacy of the Government of Nicolás Maduro, Ecarri asked the Democratic president to postpone any sale of Citgo.
