Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused the US government, led by President Joe Biden, of "looting" the country's oil firm, Citgo. This comes after a court in Delaware ruled that shares of Citgo could be sold to pay off its creditors. The move was endorsed by the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Maduro described the act as "one of the biggest lootings that has ever taken place against any nation in the world," during an event in Caracas. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez also spoke out against the move, calling it "null and void." Rodriguez further accused Washington of approving the "judicial auction of Citgo."
The Citgo case dates back to 2011 when the Venezuelan government seized a mine awarded to Canadian firm Crystallex but failed to repay the company the agreed-upon $1.2 billion, as per international arbitration. Since then, other creditors have been attempting to go after Citgo to settle debts that the Venezuelan government cannot or will not pay.
Maduro also accused opposition candidate Juan Guaido of supporting the sale of Citgo. Guaido was recognized by the US government as the leader of Venezuela after Washington refused to recognize Maduro's 2018 reelection.
At a summit in Colombia, delegations from 20 countries, including the US, called for the easing of sanctions on Venezuela, provided the country committed to holding elections with guarantees for the opposition in 2024. Maduro claimed that the Citgo decision was an attempt to undermine the efforts spearheaded by Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
