US Government Hands Blocked Venezuelan State Funds to Guaidó Faction

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The US Treasury Department has instructed Citibank in New York to transfer blocked funds in an account in the name of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) to an account held by the US central bank.

The Venezuelan National Assembly later approved this, which allowed the opposition around the self-proclaimed “interim president” Juan Guaidó to access and take possession of the funds.

In a statement, the BCV has denounced this act and described it as a “serious offense of international organized crime” committed by the government of US President Donald Trump “in collusion with extremist members of the Venezuelan right-wing”.

According to a number of sources, the funds involved are said to amount to US$342 million (R$1.7 billion).

In fact, the account with Venezuelan state funds at Citibank has been unavailable to its original holders since the US unilaterally imposed economic and financial sanctions on the socialist-ruled South American country. The US government had frozen the account.

Washington’s endorsement of Guaidó in 2019 led to the confiscation of several Venezuelan assets, including US-based CITGO, a subsidiary of the Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA, worth US$7 billion. The company was handed over to an ad-hoc board of directors appointed by Guaidó.

The recent handover of funds to the forces in Venezuela, which have been recognized as a “legitimate government” by the US and its allies in the absence of a legal basis in international law, is in opposition to the growing voices around the world calling for the lifting of US sanctions against Venezuela, in favor of joint efforts against the coronavirus pandemic.

Members of the Guaidó political group, however, have already made use of the access granted by the USA. In a virtual “parliamentary session” of the Guaidó-led faction in the National Assembly, the transfer was initially “approved”. Subsequently, the opposition members of parliament distributed approximately US$80 million for “projects” with political and social objectives, although its implementation and control remain unclear.

Among other items, “US$35,930,260 is to be used for the project to finance social spending focused on the humanitarian emergency regarding critical risks” and “US$5,547,635 for the project to reinforce the mediation process on the right to communication and the fight against censorship”.

As recently as late last year, a corruption and embezzlement scandal involving Guaidó representatives embarrassed international supporters of the right-wing opposition. As a result, the German government felt compelled to press for “comprehensive and thorough” clarification. The findings have not been reported.

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