Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

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Venezuela: Where democracy really dies in darkness

You may recall this,

Benjamin Weingarten writes about Where Democracy Really Does Die in Darkness. Obsessed with Trump, Western media ignore the march of authoritarianism around the world. Weingarten writes on Turkey and Hong Kong, and has this to say about Venezuela,

Another story that the media largely ignore is that of the collapse of Venezuela under socialism. The Left’s “May Day”—better titled Victims of Communism Day— came and went with barely a peep about the collapse of the once-vibrant Latin American nation under Hugo Chavez/Nicolás Maduro Stalinism. Just as Turkey is about to fall under the veil of Islamist tyranny, Venezuela is reaching the logical conclusion of Leftist tyranny. Thousands have been taking to the streets in protest. Citizens are going hungry in a country that was once the richest in the region. The government is seizing the assets of global corporations. Inflation is running at 280 percent. In a nation that had banned private gun ownership, Maduro is now planning to arm up to 400,000 loyalists to preserve some semblance of order. Central planning and other attacks on individual liberty and private property rights have turned Venezuela into another failed Communist experiment, leaving its people mired in violence, poverty, and misery.

You might think that the downfall of a nation in America’s hemisphere under democratically elected socialists might be subject to intense media coverage. You would be wrong. Could it be that the Left does not wish to report on the end results of its policies?

The Health Minister got the boot after

Ministry data published this week showed cases of infant mortality rose 30 per cent, maternal mortality 65 per cent and malaria shot up 76 per cent last year. There was also a jump in illnesses such as diphtheria and Zika.

But it’s free healthcare!

Russia, Russia: Russian Oil Deals Provide A Lifeline For Venezuela’s Embattled Maduro.
Russia plans to start supplying wheat to Venezuela this year.

Nicolás’s millions

In a document revealed by Brazil’s Federal Supreme Tribunal, the wife of Brazilian publicist Joao Santana, Mónica Moura, confessed that she received $11 million at the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry headquarters, directly from Nicolás’ hands when he was the Foreign Minister. The Santana-Moura partnership was the brains behind el finado’s last re-election campaign back in 2012: “Chávez, corazón del pueblo.”

As part of her plea bargain with Brazilian justice, Moura confessed under oath that Nicolás handed her $11 million in cash and still owed her $15 more million. Nicolás demanded Moura receive all payments for the campaign without declaring them, with some of the payments fronted Odebrecht and Andrade Gutierrez.

The protests continue,

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Venezuela: US Senate Joins House in Call for Review of Venezuela PDVSA Deal with Russia’s Rosneft over Citgo

A very important story not covered by most media, at LAHT:
US Senate Joins House in Call for Review of Venezuela PDVSA Deal with Russia’s Rosneft over Citgo (emphasis added)

In December LAHT discovered and publicized that PdVSA had mortgaged 49.9% of CITGO as collateral for a loan it took last year from Rosneft. Rosneft could also hold other PdVSA debt that would give it a majority stake in CITGO.

Rosneft, a majority Russian government-owned oil company run by a former deputy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, loaned Venezuela $1.5 billion for the 49.9% share of Citgo in the U.S. (just under the majority change of control that would have to be reported).

Venezuela’s current economic crisis is undermining PdVSA’s financial stability, increasing the possibility of default.

CITGO operates a notable portion of the nation’s energy infrastructure with 48 petroleum product terminals in 20 states, three refineries in Texas, Louisiana and Illinois, three fully-owned Texas pipelines, and six partially-owned pipelines.

In response to this,

Six prominent Senate leaders have now joined House Foreign Affairs leaders in calling upon U.S. Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin — as head of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a panel comprised of cabinet-level officials charged with assessing such transactions for threats to national security — to review the review the Russian government controlled Rosneft’s transaction for half of Citgo in the U.S.A.

LAHT has the documents at the above link.

Related, also at LAHT:
US Court Upholds $1.4 Billion Judgment Against Venezuela for Crystallex Expropriation. In the documents, something bondholders should be aware of,

“Crystallex is preparing to file a motion seeking an order … that Crystallex may seek to attach assets to aid in the execution of its judgment. Once that happens, Crystallex intends to seek an order directing the shares of PDVH held by Venezuela’s alter ego, PDVSA, be sold to satisfy Crystallex’s judgment.”

Prior posts:
Venezuela: Crystallex Sues Russia’s Rosneft & PDVSA Bondholders Over CITGO

Venezuela Admits Mortgaging Citgo in the USA to Russia, Goes on Attack

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Stephen Cohen on the Vast Russian Conspiracy: “The premise . . . is that the American people are zombies”

Prof. Stephen Cohen is one of the preeminent Russian scholars in the world. He is a frequent guest in the John Batchelor Show, most recently last Tuesday, when he discussed Dissent and the New Cold War.


Last night Cohen was in the Tucker Carlson show, also talking about the so-called Russian hacking false narrative. Read my post, Stephen Cohen on the Vast Russian Conspiracy: “The premise . . . is that the American people are zombies” to hear what he had to say.



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Venezuela: Crystallex Sues Russia’s Rosneft & PDVSA Bondholders Over CITGO

Back in 2011, Hugo Chávez unlafully experopriated Canadian gold mining company Crystallex’s Las Cristinas mine.

Following Venezuela’s acknowledging that it had mortgaged Citgo to Russia’s Rosneft, and Owed $1.4 Billion by Venezuela, Crystallex Sues Russia’s Rosneft & PDVSA Bondholders Over CITGO

After an investigation by Redd Intelligence and the Latin American Herald Tribune uncovered Venezuela’s secret mortgage of Citgo to Russia’s Rosneft, Crystallex has launched a suit against Rosneft and PDVSA’s bondholders to get CITGO back.

Canadian Gold miner Crystallex — which is owed $1.4 billion by Venezuela for the 2011 unlawful expropriation of its Las Cristinas gold mine project — on Wednesday launched suits against both Russia’s state controlled oil company Rosneft and PDVSA’s bondholders for the “fraudulent receipt” of Venezuela’s U.S. refiner Citgo in U.S. Federal Court in Delaware.

The addition of Rosneft and PDVSA’s bondholder collateral trustee GLAS Americas to the lawsuit comes after an investigation by REDD Intelligence and the Latin American Herald Tribune exposed the secret Russian transaction late last month.

A 49.9% stake in the three refineries and the extensive U.S. pipelines owned by Citgo was “used to raise new financing”,PDVSA admitted in a defensive statement after the potential Russian ownership of strategic oil and pipeline assets in the United States made front page headlines around the world.

LAHT has the Crystallex v PDVSA – USDC Del – Amended Originating Complaint Including Rosneft & GLAS – 4 Jan 2017 document.

Read the full article here, and don’t miss the part regarding possible action from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

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Venezuela Admits Mortgaging Citgo in the USA to Russia, Goes on Attack

Following up on the story that PDVSA mortgaged to Russia refineries located in the U.S.,


Venezuela Admits Mortgaging Citgo in the USA to Russia, Goes on Attack

After an investigation by Redd Intelligence and the Latin American Herald Tribune uncovered that Venezuela has mortgaged Citgo to Russia’s Rosneft, PDVSA came out swinging, defensively confirming the story and along with Venezuela’s ruling regime, launching an attack on LAHT, REDD and Russ Dallen.

PDVSA’s statement (emphasis added)

did not reveal what they received in exchange for the shares — nor why it was kept secret — but it is believed that Rosneft lent the Venezuelan state oil company $1.5 billion with the above mentioned stake in the Citgo refineries as collateral.

“Citgo is still owned by PDVSA”, PDVSA’s statement begins by saying, but later in the text PDVSA also admits that “in October it used as guarantee a 50.1% of Citgo in a bond swap operation.” If PDVSA defaults, Rosneft and bondholders could end up owning the refineries.

In short, the assets accumulated by previous Venezuela governments over 40 years were liquidated by “chavismo” in less than 10 years and with the proceeds disposed of in a manner not at all transparent.

The article also describes Russia’s expanding energy foothold.

Read the full report.

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Venezuela: PDVSA mortgages US-located refineries to Russia

From LAHT: “The Rosneft filing means that 100% of Citgo Holding is now encumbered and potentially at risk.”

Venezuela’s PDVSA Mortgages US Refinery Citgo to Russia’s Rosneft (emphasis added)

Venezuela has mortgaged the remaining 49.9% of Citgo Holding Inc. to Russia state-controlled oil company Rosneft.
. . .
PDV Holding Inc., owned by Venezuela state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), owns Citgo Holding Inc., which in turn, owns Citgo Petroleum Corporation, which has 3 refineries and pipelines throughout the United States.

The lien means that should Citgo or PDVSA default, Russia’s state controlled oil company Rosneft could end up owning strategically important oil refineries and pipelines in the United States.

Citgo owns oil and gas pipelines throughout the country as well as oil refineries in Corpus Christi, Texas; Lake Charles, Louisiana; and Lemont, Illinois (outside of Chicago). Citgo’s refineries can refine 749,000 barrels per day and the Lake Charles refinery is the sixth-largest refining facility in the U.S.

Read the full report here.

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