President Maduro Wants Prison for Those Responsible for CITGO Robbery (+China & Nicaragua Support Venezuela)
CITGO billboard. File photo.
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, said that those involved in the theft of the CITGO refineries should be punished with imprisonment. He made this comment in reference to a US court ordering the auction of Venezuela’s most valuable asset abroad, the subsidiary of the Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the CITGO refineries based in the United States and valued at $ 15 billion.
On Monday, June 17, during the broadcast of his television program Con Maduro +, the Venezuelan president demanded justice for the robbery of CITGO from Venezuela, and stressed that Venezuelans “must defend what is ours.”
“There must be justice, there must be jail for all those involved in the theft of CITGO, all those who promoted the robbery of CITGO,” he said. “We must defend what is ours, defend our assets, and the best way to it is to continue in their recovery, in their development.”
He condemned the United States government and the complicit Venezuelan far-right grouped in the Unitary Platform (PUD) for stealing from Venezuela a company that belongs to the Venezuelan people.
#EnVideo 📹| Vicepresidenta Ejecutiva, @delcyrodriguezv, denunció la complicidad de los apellidos con EEUU para el robo de CITGO.#ConMaduroMásClaseObrera pic.twitter.com/l78dkv2vaY
— ConMaduro+ (@ConMaduroMas_) June 18, 2024
President Maduro added that former deputy Juan Guaidó, the wanted criminal Leopoldo López, and far-right politicians María Corina Machado and Henrique Capriles are behind the theft of CITGO by the US.
He confirmed that there will be legal actions against anyone who participates in the “forced sale” of CITGO, including individuals and corporations.
Venezuelans want justice
At least 72% of Venezuelans want the opposition politicians who asked for sanctions against the country to be tried legally.
According to a poll recently released by the Hinterlaces polling firm, 72% of those consulted stated that opposition politicians who asked for the blockade and the freezing of Venezuelan assets abroad must face justice.
Meanwhile, only 19% of those consulted said that those politicians should not be tried, and 9% preferred not to answer the question.
Venezuela Firmly Condemns Theft of CITGO by Washington and Far-Right Opposition (+CITGO 6)
China and Nicaragua support Venezuela
China opposes the illegal sanctions imposed by the United States on Venezuela, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry for Foreign Affairs declared on Tuesday, June 18, and urged Washington to immediately and completely stop interfering in Venezuelan internal affairs.
Spokesperson Lin Jian made this statement at the regular Foreign Ministry press briefing when asked to comment on the Venezuelan government’s statement condemning the process of the dispossession of CITGO Petroleum Corporation by the US authorities.
“China has always firmly upheld the UN Charter and the basic norms governing international relations,” Lin said, and emphasized that China opposes the illegal unilateral coercive measures and their extra-territorial character imposed by the United States on Venezuela.
“The United States must completely end illegal unilateral sanctions against Venezuela and instead act in a way that lead to peace, stability and development in Venezuela and other countries,” the spokesperson added.
The government of Nicaragua issued a statement sharing the indignation of the Venezuelan government for the blatant robbery of a valuable Venezuelan asset by the White House and the PUD that is running without issues in the upcoming presidential elections, although many in Venezuela want the PUD to be banned.
Nicaragua condemned “these absurd abuses” by the United States and its filibustering behavior.
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil thanked, on behalf of all Venezuelans, “our friends in Nicaragua, President Daniel Ortega, and Vice President Rosario Murillo for their firm condemnation of the theft of our company CITGO perpetrated by the United States government in complicity with the Venezuelan opposition and multinational corporations.”
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SC
