[Thread] The "interim president" and the corporations
Self-proclaimed @jguaido, this worthless US puppet, has found himself in some hot water over the handling of Venezuelan assets that fell in his lap. We'll have a detailed report soon, but in the meantime here's the gist of it
This week, a document from a Delaware court said that the Guaidó "administration" had reached an agreement to pay oil giant ConocoPhillips $1.3 billion. The fact that this was not disclosed nor approved by his (make-believe, expired) parliament drew criticism on social media
The background is that ConocoPhillips was awarded $2B by an intl arbitration court, the Vzlan govt reached a settlement but couldn't deliver because of sanctions, so CP moved to seize Citgo shares (US-based oil subsidiary). And it's not the only one after Citgo (more below)
The natural Q is "how did Guaidó intend to pay this $1.3B"? One obvious guess is... Citgo shares. But worry not! It was all a misunderstanding. The self-proclaimed one and his team of top minds put out a statement saying this whole thing in the document is there "by mistake"
Let's play a game of "which is worse?"
- Guaidó & co. pledged to pay $1.3B, then lied about it
- Guaidó & co (whose lawyers had this info weeks before publication) failed to see a $1.3B pledge they didn't make
Credit to @frrodriguezc for his explanations and asking the right Qs
Let those who never unknowingly pledged to pay $1.3 billion dollars cast the first stone. Anyway, this court document has to do with Crystallex's similar bid to get its greedy corporate hands on Citgo shares. The mining giant also won a $1.4 billion intl arbitration award
Crystallex sent a letter to the US Treasury asking to seize Vzlan assets. US authorities denied the request yet pledged to revisit the stance in 2022. They say that's when Guaidó's Natl Assembly's term "expires". It really expired in Jan 2021 but US puppets just make up new rules
The ban on dealings w/ the defaulted PDVSA 2020 bond (it has Citgo as collateral) also expires in Jan 2022, so could the clock be ticking on Citgo? Between the pro-corporate "justice" handed by intl arbitration courts and the opposition's buffoonish antics, it doesn't look good
However, this is not all. The Guaidó camp recently and "quietly" dropped its opposition to the enforcement of yet another international arbitration award, this time $1.2 billion to fellow Canadian corporation Rusoro Mining. Another one lining up to seize Citgo?
To this we should add the recent scandal involving Monómeros (Vzlan agrochemical company in Colombia) which was seized by the Colombian government and Guaidó "thanked" them for it. After all, Duque outranks him in the puppet hierarchy
Whatever the case may be, opposition knives are out. The leadership of the (expired) opp-controlled Natl Assembly penned a letter to Colombia opposing the Monómeros move. But Guaidó and another idiot refused to sign. What was that bit about unity?
For the past 2 and a half years, the spectacular failure of the coup attempt has forced the US into the unusual position of opposing corporate efforts to seize Vzlan assets. Simply put, these offer the Guaidó band credibility and a huge piggy bank. But is that about to change?
Even Washington has put an expiration date on this circus known as the "interim govt." Reading the tea leaves, it's not far fetched to expect an effort from corporations, coordinating w/ the US, to plunder these assets as soon as possible so they don't return to the Vzlan state
As for Guaidó, because of this really indescribable decision to consider an Olympic-level moron as Venezuela's "legitimate leader," he's the one who can sign off on all these dealings. Shall we take bets on him ending up as a board member at ConocoPhillips or Crystallex?
Don't take our word for it. Here's a Citi executive saying the bank blocked a PDVSA payment to a creditor. He was testifying in a court case that might demonstrate how far-reaching US sanctions are. But it's the US justice system, so don't hold your breath reuters.com/world/americas…
Of course, right at hand was an "expert witness" to say that PDVSA could have just used another bank. Sure... The US threatened an asphalt company from Thailand against dealing w/ PDVSA, but a US bank would have done it, no questions asked. Surely Citi were being paranoid...
Of course @Reuters can't avoid its "Maduro says" trick. Copying and pasting is no excuse for dishonesty. Even US representatives and the freaking US Chamber of Commerce attest to the sanctions' economic damage. But corporate media will ride the imperialist train into the sunset
Praise the almighty overlords for their generosity! The US will give $336 million in aid to Vzlans.This brings total assistance since 2017 to $1.9B. Bless those imperial hearts! Well, not really. Let's play a game called "putting numbers in perspective" 🧵 reuters.com/world/americas…
Since 2017 precisely, Washington has imposed a slew of measures against virtually all Vzlan economic sectors. The most significant one (arguably) was the 2019 oil embargo. This alone causes $30M in losses... per day! So this aid "gift" covers 11 days of losses due to this embargo
$1.9B might also seem like a lot (it is), but consider:
- oil industry losses are estimated as high as $30B a year
- seized Citgo is valued at $7B
- stolen gold in the UK and frozen bank accounts total around $8B
Sanctions coming home to roost? Not likely, but an important trial might be unfolding in a US court. Without overestimating the amount of “justice” that US courts actually deliver, the case may expose just how far-reaching US sanctions are (thread) reuters.com/legal/transact…
In a nutshell, this is the story: Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA issued a promissory note pledging to pay Dresser-Rand (Houston-based Siemens subsidiary, oilfield equipment provider) some $120M. It paid the first 2 installments and then couldn’t go on because of US sanctions
In 2020 a judge ruled in favor of Dresser-Rand and ordered PDVSA to pay some $150M (120 + interest). Only the Venezuelan company actually tried to continue making payments and was blocked as a result of sanctions, and thus claims it is no longer liable for the debt
The US will ride this spectacular trainwreck of nonsense known as the @jguaido pretend presidency into the sunset. Though Biden has allegedly put an expiration date on this circus, US officials will try and stave off the inevitable disaster
The latest development has been yet another extension of a Treasury license banning any transactions with the PDVSA 2020 bond until January 2022. There have been similar ones banning corporations from seizing Vzlan assets without special permission
This is a story w/ equal parts sanctions and opposition tomfoolery. Why are these Treasury licenses relevant? In a word: Citgo (Vzlan US-based oil subsidiary). The PDVSA 2020 bond has defaulted and Citgo shares were pledged as collateral. So bondholders want to seize Citgo shares
Venezuelan writer Luis Britto García sheds light on the country's participative democracy and current political battles: venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/15314
Also, here are some links to stories we covered this week. THREAD 👇
Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami denounced Colombia’s move to takeover agrochemical producer Monómeros as a “flagrant theft of a Venezuelan asset.”
Monómeros, frozen and handed to Guaidó in 2019, is a gov't priority in ongoing talks with the opposition. venezuelanalysis.com/news/15316
“We’ve done it again in Mexico,” said @jorgerpsuv, head of the gov’t delegation, after signing two agreements with the US-backed opposition.
The parties would look to secure access to the IMF's Special Drawing Rights to "increase social coverage." venezuelanalysis.com/news/15310
One thing we really don't get is how bigwigs and pundits think (or pretend) the US being despised all over the world is some kind of misunderstanding. Or a product of "misinformation campaigns." Case in point is Washington's stance regarding Venezuela's ongoing dialogue (thread)
Ladies and gentlemen, here's fake ambassador to Vzla James "Jimmy" Story (he has an office in Colombia) saying the US and its puppets are considering *new sanctions* if they don't like how the negotiation process is going. Yes, this is not a joke #SanctionsKill
Story funnily talks about the "interim president" when not even the opposition delegation uses this ridiculous term anymore. Also, the EU and Canada have nothing to be proud about in their history, but even for their standards it's a bit too low to be lapdogs to these shenanigans