A refinery entering the battle of Venezuela

Citgo, the US subsidiary of the national oil company Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), is on the verge of becoming a piece of political failure between the United States and the government led by Nicolás Maduro.

Donald Trump's government is trying to transfer the badets of the refinery subsidiary to the team of Juan Guaidó, who, as president of the National Assembly, is recognized by many governments as the legitimate president of the Venezuela.

Such a change of Citgo would de facto give Guaidó enormous power. "It's more than symbolic," said William Burke-White, professor of international law at the University of Pennsylvania. "An alternative power structure is emerging, a world in which another entity is questioning all Maduro's sources of authority," he added.

Until now, Citgo has repatriated its profits to PDVSA. It also sent fuel that Venezuela needs because its refining capacity has deteriorated. But sanctions have banned these exports. Like other refineries, Citgo can now import Venezuelan oil only if it makes payments on accounts that are beyond the reach of the Maduro regime. This implies that PDVSA will most likely stop sending shipments to the United States.

Citgo is not directly subject to sanctions. The Trump government has called this an exception to allow Americans to continue doing business with it.

Guaidó announced the upcoming appointment of a new board of directors for Citgo. Legally, it does not face major obstacles. There is a certain precedent, as in 2011 when the United States and other governments recognized a coalition of rebel groups as the legitimate government of Libya, while Moamar Gaddafi was still in power in Tripoli. The decision allowed this Libyan coalition to control the badets of his country abroad. "International law allows that to happen," Burke-White said.

Imposing this change, however, poses logistical problems. Pedro Burelli, a US-based consultant and part of the PDVSA board of directors until 1998, said Guaidó should first appoint a new member of PDVSA management, who would be then in charge of the voting process and selection of a new board by the shareholders. in Citgo. But this new management of PDVSA could not for the moment have access to the operations of the parent company because it is still under the control of Maduro.