The Citgo conspiracy: Opposition figures accuse Guaidó officials of ‘scam’ to liquidate Venezuela’s most prized international asset

Venezuela’s opposition has long accused the Bolivarian government of corruption and mismanagement. But with Citgo on the verge of liquidation, Guaidó’s officials are too incompetent — or too devious — to save it.

by Anya Parampil

Part 9 - Running Venezuela’s “government” through WhatsApp

Seven months since the US recognized Juan Guaidó as President of Venezuela, the young politician has yet to win control of any tangible government ministry or assemble anything close to resembling a proper cabinet.

Instead, Guaidó has leaned on a group of far more experienced, well-connected operatives to serve as his representatives in the US. His blind faith has provoked fellow members of Venezuela’s opposition to warn that he may soon land on face-first on catastrophic failure.

“I have not been able to reach him on this issue,” Jorge Alejandro Rodríguez said of Guaidó. He said that he had also admonished Venezuelan lawmakers not to leave the country’s interests “in the hands of Mr. Hausmann, who has been away from Venezuela for twenty five to thirty years, Mr. Hernández, who left the country ten years ago, and Mr. Vecchio, who left the country” in 2015.

“I am more pessimistic as days pass by, but I do keep alive in my heart the hope that some people will come to their senses, people like Guaidó,” the veteran financial analyst reflected. “I hope he realizes it before we definitely and finally lose [Citgo].”

Francisco Rodríguez, who ran Venezuela’s equivalent of the Congressional Budget Office between 2000 and 2004, believes the Citgo crisis is symptomatic of a wider problem. He hopes that Venezuela’s National Assembly puts in a greater effort to ensure transparency from Guaidó and his overseas team.

“I have advocated that the National Assembly take its oversight role seriously here,” he explained, describing Guaidó’s administration as “a very odd government” due to the lack of internal and external control mechanisms that are commonplace in normal governing bodies.

“It’s a government that is subject to absolutely no control. They’re not controlled by any judiciary,” he said. “There is no budget, no accountability and no oversight. These guys are running the Venezuelan government on WhatsApp chats and gmail accounts.”

According to Francisco Rodríguez, even what he describes as “mainstream opposition” parties with a “more moderate background,” such as Democratic Action and A New Era, are deeply concerned about the risk of potential misdealings within the Guaidó regime.

“It’s not an issue of honesty, it’s an issue of incentives,” he stated. “If you put in a government with absolutely no oversight over its management of resources, you’re bound to have corruption scandals emerge.” But unfortunately, he said, their desire for accountability is restricted by opposition “hardliners” who accuse all critics of simply “playing Maduro’s game.”

Whether or not Crystallex, Exxon, or another group of creditors and corporations emerge as the big winner, if Citgo is liquidated there will be only one loser: the Venezuelan people.

***

Source, links:

https://thegrayzone.com/2019/09/03/the-citgo-conspiracy-opposition-figures-accuse-guaido-officials-of-scam-to-liquidate-venezuelas-most-prized-international-asset/

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