The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, through its Executive Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez, expressed its strongest rejection this Tuesday of the imminent forced sale of Citgo Petroleum Corporation, a subsidiary of PDVSA, carried out by judicial authorities of the United States (US), calling the act a “theft” and a “vulgar and barbaric plundering” of a strategic Venezuelan asset.
In an official communiqué, read by the high official, it was denounced that the judicial procedure that led to this sale was fraudulent, since Venezuela was “intentionally and illegally” excluded from the process.
This exclusion, driven by the influence of the US administration in the courts, denied the Venezuelan State its fundamental right to a defense.
“Under the pretext of not recognizing the legitimate Venezuelan government, a maneuver was designed to steal strategic assets from the country,” affirmed Rodríguez.
The statement indicates that this aggression was carried out in collusion with Venezuelan political actors, whom it identifies as “extremists,” and with the “organized crime group calling itself the 2015 National Assembly,” accused of attempting to usurp Venezuela’s representation abroad to facilitate the dispossession.
Faced with this new “multifaceted aggression,” the National Government reaffirmed that it will not recognize a forced sale carried out “in flagrant disregard” for economic guarantees, due process, and the right to defense. It also warned that it will take all measures at its disposal to ensure that “those who promoted and carried out the dispossession of Citgo are held accountable before the law,” including imposing civil liabilities on any foreign entities that participated.
“This case will go down in history as clear and pathetic evidence that foreign investments are neither respected nor guaranteed in the United States, and can be subject to illicit appropriation at any time,” concluded the text, underscoring the determination of Venezuelan State to use its laws and institutions to defend its national patrimony.