U.S. Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) recently urged the administration to safeguard the democratic Venezuelan National Assembly’s control over the oil refiner CITGO from the Venezuelan regime’s creditors.
During his first term, Trump transferred control of CITGO from the hands of the Maduro regime to the democratic opposition based in the United States. Then the Biden administration allowed the regime’s creditors to pursue their claims against those assets using U.S. courts, according to a May 29 letter that Rep. Salazar sent to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“I urge the administration to continue to exercise its constitutional powers to maintain the full blocking protection that the Trump administration put in place in 2019 to safeguard CITGO in the service of U.S. foreign policy, energy security and national security concerns and engage directly with Venezuela’s democratic leaders to determine a path forward for this strategic sovereign asset,” the congresswoman wrote.
In her letter, Rep. Salazar noted that CITGO is a strategic asset of the Venezuelan people and vital to the future of democracy in the country, and she specifically urged the administration to bar the continuation of the sale process through its economic powers; safeguard CITGO in the service of U.S. foreign policy, energy security and national security concerns; and work with Venezuela’s democratic leaders to explore a fair path forward for this strategic asset.
“The plaintiffs against CITGO are really plaintiffs against Maduro and the Chavista crooks that ran PDVSA in Venezuela into the ground,” wrote Rep. Salazar, referring to the Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company. “The Venezuelan opposition desperately trying to restore freedom to their country shouldn’t have to pay the debts of Maduro and his cronies.”