Citgo Petroleum, with its refineries and network of service stations in the United States, had been put as collateral in bonds issued in October 2016 by PDVSA without approval from the Venezuelan parliament. The lawyer and former ambassador of the interim government for Canada, Orlando Viera-Blanco, and the former director of the BCV José Guerra agree that an executive order from President Donald Trump could give immunity to the PDVSA subsidiary abroad
Amber Energy, a subsidiary of Elliott Investment Management, was awarded the judicial auction of Citgo Petroleum, the refinery on US soil linked to Venezuela, with an offer of $5.89 billion.
This was reported on Tuesday the 25th by the Delaware District Court, led by Judge Leonard Stark. The decision was based on the proposal offering the “best combination of price and closing certainty.”
Judge Stark also rejected the objections presented by other creditors, although he granted a deadline of November 28 to present final claims before issuing the final order of sale.
The auction is part of a long judicial process that involves the Venezuelan state company PDVSA and various international creditors, who are demanding payment of bonds and compensation for debt defaults.
Citgo Petroleum, with its refineries and network of service stations in the United States, had been put as collateral in bonds issued by PDVSA in October 2016 without approval from the National Assembly, because the main guarantee – 50.1% of the shares of Citgo Holdings – contravened Venezuelan laws. The non-payment of these obligations led the US courts to organize the sale as a compensation mechanism.
*Read also: Pdvsa ad hoc board reports Citgo profits of $100 million in the second quarter of 2025
Since 2019, Citgo has been in the middle of sanctions and restrictions, a product of tension between the United States and the administration of Nicolás Maduro. Despite this, the company has continued to operate its refineries and stations, generating income that has been used to cover financial obligations and maintain operational continuity, according to previous reports from Bloomberg.
What options are there to retain Citgo? The lawyer and former ambassador of the interim government for Canada, Orlando Viera-Blanconoted that Judge Stark’s decision is appealable to the Delaware Court of Appeals III. If this court also insists on upholding the decision, an appeal could also be made to the United States Supreme Court.
He agreed with the former director of the BCV Jose Guerra in which an executive order from President Donald Trump could also give immunity to PDVSA’s subsidiary abroad.
Guerra explained that this executive order addressed to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) could well stop the auction or, otherwise, prevent the company from being transferred.
The economist highlighted that auctioning Citgo only generates benefits for the main creditors: Cristallex, Conoco Phillips and the PDVSA 2020 bondholders.
Likewise, he asserted that the auction for $5.89 billion “is not an option” in this case. «I understand that PDVSA is going to appeal to the courts, but my impression today is that this case is lost. “There is only one letter left and it is in the hands of President Donald Trump if this process continues.”
«The fundamental decisions are not in the hands of Venezuelans. Hugo Chávez led us to this tragedy and Nicolás Maduro deepened the crisis, because the debt occurred with Chávez in the middle of a maelstrom, a madness of the country’s debt,” Guerra reiterated.
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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