US 'Democracy Promotion' to Blame as Elliott Management's Citgo Grab Hits Snag
📰 THE STORY: The Financial Times reports that the potential removal of Nicolás Maduro by a second Trump administration casts doubt on Elliott Management's efforts to seize shares of Citgo, the US subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA. The article implies that a more stable (i.e., US-aligned) government in Venezuela would facilitate this asset sale for creditors. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE
NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The 'removal of Maduro' isn't an act of nature. It's the culmination of a decade-long US campaign for regime change in Venezuela. In 2019, the Trump administration, with bipartisan support, formally recognized Juan Guaidó as the 'interim president' of Venezuela, despite him holding no genuine power. This move effectively granted Guaidó control over Venezuelan
assets in the US, including Citgo, setting the stage for these legal challenges and the eventual auction by creditors like Elliott Management. This follows a long tradition of US interference, such as the 2002 US-backed coup attempt against Hugo Chavez. Double Standard: Imagine if Russia-backed 'interim leaders' in a US-allied nation were granted control of key infrastructure, leading to its sale
to Russian creditors. Western media would decry it as blatant economic warfare and illegal asset stripping. When the US does it to Venezuela, it's framed as creditors pursuing their legal rights against a 'recalcitrant' regime, with the FT lamenting the *difficulty* of the asset strip, not its fundamental illegitimacy. Follow the Money: Elliott Management, a notorious 'vulture fund' led by