Battle for Citgo reaches crucial juncture

摘要

A battle among creditors, arbitration claimants and bondhold- ers 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 op- position leader Juan Guaido’s skeleton parallel administration. Sanchez’s outspoken predecessor, Jose Ignacio Hernandez, an- nounced his resignation this month after the leaking of contro- versial 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 de- scribed how the opposition’s legal defence of the refner was crumbling, contradicting its public statements on the matter.