A US judge UU authorizes the seizure of Citgo, a subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela

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The Canadian company Crystallex claims 1,400 million dollars for the marketing of its business in Venezuela.

 

A US judge has authorized the seizure of Citgo, the main subsidiary of the state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) in the United States, in favor of the Canadian mining company Crystallex, which is claiming 1,400 million dollars for the nationalization of its business in the South American country.

The decision taken Thursday by federal judge Leonard P. Stark, with a court in Wilmington (Delaware), is the first to authorize the seizure of Citgo.

The ruling, which authorizes the seizure of shares as a step prior to the sale, is appealable by PDVSA and the details and conditions of the decision have not yet been disclosed.

However, the eventual seizure of Citgo would imply for the Government of Nicolás Maduro the loss of its main asset in the United States.

In addition, according to The Wall Street Journal, the loss of Citgo would endanger one of the few oil markets that generate profits for Venezuela, the United States.

Through Citgo Petroleum, PDVSA has three refineries in the states of Texas, Illinois and Louisiana, as well as a network of some 10,000 gas stations throughout the country.

Crystallex is the first of the many companies that have focused their attention on Citgo for their business losses in Venezuela, which has won a favorable verdict from the US Justice Department. UU

The Canadian mining company claims 1.4 billion dollars for the nationalization in 2008 of the Las Cristinas deposit, which contains one of the largest gold deposits in the world.