The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, criticized the United States for withholding “4 billion dollars of annual profits, only in Citgo.” He accused the Venezuelan opposition of collaborating with the US government in the embezzlement of Venezuela and using the resources to finance their primaries scheduled for October.
During his program “Con Maduro +”, Maduro pointed out former Deputy Dinorah Figuera, who is a fugitive from Venezuelan justice, as the recipient of more than US$ 300 million to support the presidential candidacies of the opposition. According to the president, these funds come from blocked bank accounts in the United States that were delivered to the ‘National Assembly’ elected in 2015, despite the fact that its functions ceased in January 2021 and it operates outside the Parliament legally installed in that year, after the 2020 elections.
Maduro expressed his indignation for the “kidnapping” of the subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) in the United States, which is under the control of the opposition. He referred to the 4 billion dollars of annual profits for 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 that are being held in Citgo and that should be destined for the benefit of the population.
In response to these situations, Maduro signed the Law for the Protection of the Assets, Rights, and Interests of the Republic and its Entities Abroad, recently approved by the Venezuelan National Assembly. He emphasized that this law constitutes a new legal and constitutional instrument to protect the assets and patrimony of all Venezuelans.
In summary, Maduro accused the opposition and the US government of collaborating in the embezzlement of Venezuela and using the resources for political purposes, while denouncing the withholding of funds in Citgo and signing a law to protect the assets of the Republic.