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CITGO

Venezuela Edges Closer To Losing CITGO As Corporations Submit Offers

The second and final round of bidding in a court-mandated auction of Venezuela’s US-based oil subsidiary CITGO has concluded. Several corporations submitted binding offers by a June 11 deadline as part of a process organized by a Delaware District Court to satisfy a number of claims against the Caribbean nation totaling US USD 21.3 billion. In October 2022, Judge Leonard P. Stark set in motion the sale of shares belonging to PDV Holding (PDVH), CITGO’s parent company. The process was brought forward by Canadian miner Crystallex. The auction procedure will pay 18 creditors, which are looking to collect on international arbitration awards on a “first come, first serve basis,” based on when the court approved their writs.

Venezuela Condemns US Supreme Court Ruling On CITGO

Venezuelan Minister of Communication and Information Freddy Ñáñez stated that the Venezuelan government condemns the recent decision by the United States Supreme Court to ratify the dispossession of CITGO Petroleum Corporation. Through a social media post published Tuesday, December 9, Minister Ñáñez wrote that the action violates the agreements signed in Barbados last year. According to his social media post, the measure is seen as another step in the ongoing aggression by United States institutions against Venezuela, seizing the assets rightfully belonging to the Venezuelan people.

Washington’s OFAC Licenses Prevent CITGO’s Auction

Venezuelan Vice Minister for Anti-Blockade Policies William Castillo explained that as a consequence of the decisions announced by the United States Department of the Treasury regarding sanctions against Venezuelan Oil, the auction of the Venezuelan company CITGO planned for 2024 has been prevented. Castillo said to Últimas Noticias this Thursday, October 19, that the decision extends the prohibition on the sale of PDVSA bonds that are tied to CITGO. “That is very important because it has implications for the auction. While it is in force, and is extended until January, the CITGO auction cannot be held,” he added.

President Maduro Demands The Return Of Citgo From The United States

On Monday, the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, demanded the return of the company Citgo, a subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), to the Government of the United States (US), after denouncing that it was stolen by that country. During his intervention in the program Con Maduro Más, the President rejected the coup plot to keep Citgo as a hostage, which has caused millions of dollars in losses to the Venezuelan oil company.

The US Plot To Finalize The Theft Of Venezuela’s Oil

It was always about the oil. United States assertions that the government of elected president Nicolas Maduro was illegitimate were always a ruse needed to get U.S. corporate hands on Venezuela’s oil company, CITGO. All the years of demonization, choosing an “interim president” who addressed congress and met with U.S. allies around the world, and collusion with the corporate media to spread war propaganda, were all part of a bipartisan heist that would make a gangster blush. Actually, the plot is the work of gangsters. Barack Obama began the process with the first tranche of sanctions against Venezuela.

Venezuelan Opposition Mismanagement Strikes Blow To Citgo

A US judge ruled Friday that four companies had the right to seize shares of CITGO, the US-based subsidiary of Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), after they convinced the court that it was the "alter ego" of the so-called “interim government” of Venezuela. CITGO, considered Venezuela’s most prized foreign asset, is on the brink of being broken up and seized by creditors pending changes to the sanctions regime imposed by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The potential seizure of shares stem from awards worth billions against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in international arbitration courts.

US Judge Approves Venezuela’s CITGO Auction Process

Guayaquil, Ecuador - A US judge greenlighted an auction procedure for Houston-based Venezuelan oil subsidiary CITGO. According to documents published by Law360, on Wednesday Judge Leonard Stark of the US Delaware District Court authorized a special master to conduct a marketing and sales process for a “contingent auction” of CITGO shares “including selecting a winning bid.” However, the ruling clarified that the company’s shares will not be transferred until the winning bidder obtains a license from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which currently blocks any attempt to sell or auction the US $8 billion-worth Venezuelan asset. CITGO was seized by Washington and placed under the control of US-backed self-proclaimed “Interim President” Juan Guaidó in 2019.

Venezuela Sentences Former Citgo Executives For Corruption

Merida - Six former oil executives were sentenced for corruption on Thursday by a Venezuelan court. They were detained in November 2017 in Caracas on charges of embezzlement, money laundering and conspiracy at state oil company PDVSA’s US subsidiary, Citgo. Attorney General Tarek William Saab stated at the time that the accused had signed contracts without government permission which “jeopardized the country’s assets.” Refinancing plans with Frontier Group Management and Apollo Global Management allegedly had draconian conditions and offered the company itself as collateral.

Venezuela Convicts Six CITGO Former Executives Of Corruption

Six former executives of the CITGO Petroleum Corporation were sentenced to between eight and 13 years in prison after being found guilty of corruption. Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) announced that Citgo former President Jose Pereira will be in jail for 13 years and seven months for the crimes of "intentional embezzlement and conspiracy." Pereira also will have to pay a fine of US$2 million, equivalent to 40 percent of the value of the embezzled goods. Former executives Tomeu Vadell, Jorge Toledo, Gustavo Cardenas, Jose Zambrano, and Alirio Zambrano will serve eight years and ten months in prison for the same charges.

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