Battle for Citgo reaches crucial juncture

摘要

A battle among creditors, arbitration claimants and bondholders for Venezuelan state-owned PdV’s US refning arm Citgo is entering a critical stage, as a new attorney-general takes over the opposition’s defence of the sought-after asset. A veteran academic in constitutional law, Enrique Jose Sanchez Falcon has been appointed attorney-general in opposition leader Juan Guaido’s skeleton par- allel administration. Sanchez’s outspoken predecessor, Jose Ignacio Hernandez, announced his resignation this month after the leaking of controversial remarks to the opposition-controlled national assembly energy committee, in which he cited an “understanding” with US independent ConocoPhillips to pursue control of Citgo in an ongoing Delaware district court case. Hernandez forcefully described how the opposition’s legal defence of the refner was crumbling, contradicting its public statements on the matter.