Maduro: Dialogue With Opposition in Venezuela to Continue if Citgo Company is Returned
In this Jan. 22, 2021 file photo, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a ceremony marking the start of the judicial year at the Supreme Court in Caracas, Venezuela.
MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – Venezuela is demanding the return of the US-based Citgo oil refiner, underscoring it is a “vital” element to continue dialogue with part of the opposition, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said during a news conference.The refiner had been handed over by Washington to Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido’s team, along with $4 billion dividends for 2019-2022.”Citgo is owned by Venezuela and it is one of the vital elements to move forward in the talks – that Citgo return to Venezuela in full… and that the dividends that Citgo paid in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 be transferred to a Venezuelan account for social investment in full,” Maduro said, commenting on the talks between the government and the Venezuelan Unitary Platform, which were recently held in Mexico City.Maduro also took the opportunity to relay to reporters that Venezuelan authorities would begin talks “in the coming days” on future elections, specifically on how to establish an environment where elections are guaranteed to be “free, transparent and fair.”On November 26, the Venezuelan government and opposition signed a second social agreement at talks in Mexico City, in which they urged the United Nations to create a trust fund to manage the country’s assets blocked in the international financial system as a result of US and European sanctions. 
Venezuela Blasts Trump for Colluding With Opposition ‘Extremists’ to Expropriate Citgo’s Assets17 January 2021, 14:48 GMTThe UN Secretary-General, through a statement by his spokesperson, expressed his readiness to support the parties in the implementation of the agreement in accordance with the mandates and relevant powers of the UN.Alfred Nazareth, vice president for Communications, Culture and Tourism of Venezuela, earlier said more than $3 billion would be unlocked as a result of the deal. According to Maduro, the overall amount of funds blocked in foreign banks totals $24 billion, and he hopes to conclude new agreements soon to unblock all the amount.US-based Citgo Petroleum was considered Venezuela’s key foreign asset and was owned by the state corporation PDVSA. After an attempted coup in the South American country in 2019, US authorities seized the company from PDVSA and gave it to the Guaido opposition team. Later in 2019, ConocoPhillips claimed Citgo assets.As a result of US sanctions from 2014 to 2020, Venezuela lost 98.6% of all external foreign exchange earnings, and payments from the state oil and gas company PDVSA to the country’s central bank in 2014-2020 dropped from $56.609 billion to $73.4 million a year, or more than by 99%.