Venezuelaâs US-Backed Coup Leader Immediately Targets State Oil Company, Requests IMF Money
Unelected US-backed coup leader Juan GuaidĂł immediately moved to try to restructure Venezuelaâs state-owned oil company and seek financing from the neoliberal IMF.
by Ben Norton
The right-wing opposition leader that the United States is trying to undemocratically install as Venezuelaâs president immediately set his sights on the countryâs state-owned oil company, which he is hoping to restructure and move toward privatization. He is also seeking money from the notorious International Monetary Fund (IMF) to fund his unelected government.
On January 23, US President Donald Trump recognized the little-known, US-educated opposition politician Juan GuaidĂł as the supposed âinterim presidentâ of Venezuela. Within 48 hours, GuaidĂł quickly tried to seize control of Venezuelaâs major US-based oil refiner and use its revenue to help bankroll his US-backed coup regime.
GuaidĂł is attempting to fire the directors of Citgo Petroleum, which is owned by Venezuelaâs state oil company PDVSA, and seeks to appoint his own new board.
Reuters described Citgo as âVenezuelaâs most important foreign assetâ; Bloomberg calls it âthe crown jewel of PDVSAâs assets.â
Citgo is the largest purchaser of Venezuelan oil, although crippling sanctions imposed by the Trump administration have prevented the company from sending revenue to Venezuela, starving the government of funding.
Citing US officials, the Washington Post reported that the Trump administrationâs strategy âis to use the newly declared interim government as a tool to deny Maduro the oil revenue from the United States that provides Venezuela virtually all of its incoming cash.â
Move Toward Privatizing Venezuelaâs Oil
Venezuela has the worldâs largest oil reserves. But leftist presidents Hugo ChĂĄvez and NicolĂĄs Maduro have over the past two decades resisted attempts by US oil companies to exploit the South American nationâs plentiful natural resources.
The oil reporting agency S&P Global Platts reported that, in the immediate wake of the US anointing Juan GuaidĂł as Venezuelaâs supposed âpresident,â the opposition leader already drafted âplans to introduce a new national hydrocarbons law that establishes flexible fiscal and contractual terms for projects adapted to oil prices and the oil investment cycle.â
This plan would involve the creation of a ânew hydrocarbons agencyâ that would âoffer bidding rounds for projects in natural gas and conventional, heavy and extra-heavy crude.â
In other words, these are rapid moves to privatize Venezuelaâs oil and open the door for multinational corporations.
As The Grayzone previously reported, Venezuelaâs right-wing opposition has already stated clearly in its âtransitionâ plans: âPublic companies will be subject to a restructuring process that ensures their efficient and transparent management, including through public-private agreements.â
S&P Global Platts also indicated that US sanctions are hitting Venezuela hard, and Trump administration officials could soon tighten the screws:
⌠the US imposed sanctions that have severely hampered PDVSAâs ability to raise new financing or restructure its crushing debt load.
US officials said they are prepared to invoke further sanctions on Venezuelaâs oil sector, including a full embargo on US imports of Venezuelan crude, if Maduroâs standoff with Guaido escalates in further violence or political crackdown.
Market sources said the USâ recognition of Guaido as the legitimate leader of Venezuela could prompt US refiners to stop purchases of Venezuelan crude while Maduro remains in power.â
Neoconservative US Senator Marco Rubio, who has been deeply involved in the coup, also let the cat out of the bag when he repeatedly brought up oil, and publicly called on oil workers to âcut offâ Maduro and âbegin workingâ with GuaidĂł.
Biggest buyers of Venezuelan oil are @ValeroEnergy & @Chevron. Refining heavy crude from #Venezuela supports great jobs in Gulf Coast.
For the sake of these U.S. workers I hope they will begin working with administration of President Guaido & cut off illegitimate Maduro regime.
â Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) January 24, 2019
Coup Financing from Neoliberal IMF
The attempted restructuring of Citgo would just be the beginning of the neoliberal capitalist policies implemented by Venezuelaâs US-backed coup regime.
Reuters also reported that GuaidĂł âis considering a request for funds from international institutions including the IMF to finance his interim government.â
The International Monetary Fund is notorious as a vehicle for US political and economic influence. For decades, the IMF, along with the World Bank, has trapped ostensibly independent Latin American nations in debt and imposed so-called âstructural adjustmentâ programs that force governments to impose brutal neoliberal shock therapy on their populations, including austerity measures, privatization of state assets, deregulation, and gutting of social services.
Venezuelaâs previous elected socialist president, Hugo ChĂĄvez, broke ties with the IMF and World Bank, which he noted were âdominated by US imperialism.â Instead Venezuela and other left-wing governments in Latin America worked together to co-found the Bank of the South, as a counterbalance to the IMF and World Bank.
GuaidĂł has moved to re-integrate Venezuela into these very same Washington-dominated financial institutions. In addition to seeking financing from the IMF, GuaidĂł is likewise trying to send a new representative to the Inter-American Development Bank.
Venezuelaâs right-wing opposition has made it clear that it plans to pursue aggressive neoliberal capitalist reforms. The opposition-controlled National Assembly has also declared in its âtransitionâ plans that the âcentralized model of controls of the economy will be replaced by a model of freedom and market based on the right of each Venezuelan to work under the guarantees of property rights and freedom of enterprise.â
This plan might be a dream for foreign corporations, but even many Venezuelans marching against their government might soon decide that stripping state assets is not worth fighting for.
Ben Norton is a journalist and writer. He is a reporter for The Grayzone, and the producer of the Moderate Rebelspodcast, which he co-hosts with Max Blumenthal. His website is BenNorton.com, and he tweets at @BenjaminNorton.
Top Photo | Venezuelaâs self-declared president Juan Guaido speaks to supporters during a gathering to propose amnesty laws for police and military, at a public plaza in Las Mercedes neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 29, 2019. | Rodrigo Abd | AP
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Ben Norton
Benjamin Norton is the founder and editor of the independent news website Multipolarista, where he does original reporting in both English and Spanish. Benjamin has reported from numerous countries, including Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Colombia, and more. His journalistic work has been published in dozens of media outlets, and he has done interviews on Sky News, Al Jazeera, Democracy Now, El Financiero Bloomberg, Al Mayadeen teleSUR, RT, TRT World, CGTN, Press TV, HispanTV, Sin Censura, and various TV channels in Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Benjamin writes a regular column for Al Mayadeen (in English and Spanish). He was formerly a reporter with the investigative journalism website The Grayzone, and previously produced the political podcast and video show Moderate Rebels. His personal website is BenNorton.com, and he tweets at @BenjaminNorton.
