The National Assembly (AN) of Venezuela, controlled by Chavismo, announced this Tuesday that it will propose to the government of Nicolás Maduro to withdraw the nationality of five opposition leaders, whom it described as “main ringleaders” of the assumption “Gigantic theft from Citgo”, the PDVSA subsidiary in the United States whose sale was authorized last week by a North American judge.
The announcement was made by the President of Parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, by pointing directly to Juan Guaidó, Carlos Vecchio, Dinorah Figuera, Horacio Medina and the lawyer José Ignacio Hernández, after mentioning the “duty to protect sovereignty” and “the interests of the nation”, referred to in article 130 of the Constitution. However, the constitutional text itself clarifies that Venezuelans “by birth they cannot be deprived of their nationality”.
“Whoever does not comply with that duty is denying their condition as Venezuelans”stated Rodríguez during the ordinary session, broadcast on the Parliament channel.
Citgo sale
The proposal is part of an agreement approved by the AN in which it rejects what it qualifies as “a process of plundering of Citgo shares”following the decision of the American judge who gave the green light to the sale of the company in a judicial auction to pay creditors of the Venezuelan State.
Citgo, based in Texas, is a US-based refiner acquired by Venezuela in the 1990s and for years was one of its most valuable assets. The accepted offer was that of Amber Energy, a subsidiary of the American fund Elliott Investment Management, for 5.9 billion dollars (about 5.075 million euros).
The operation still requires approval from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury. Meanwhile, Citgo and its parent companies have appealed both the auction result and the sale order, leaving the acquisition uncertain.
In 2019, after receiving support from Washington, the Venezuelan opposition led by Juan Guaidó assumed control of Citgo and attempted to stop the actions of PDVSA bondholder creditors.
With information from Efe.
