Thread: As Venezuela Starves, Citgo Gave $500,000 to Trump Inauguration

As Venezuela Starves, Citgo Gave $500,000 to Trump Inauguration



WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Citgo, the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), donated half-a-million dollars for President Donald J. Trump's Inauguration, newly released U.S. Federal Election Committee filings show.

According to the FEC filing, Citgo’s $500,000 contribution came on December 22 -- one day after the Latin American Herald Tribune broke the story that Venezuela had mortgaged 49.9% of Citgo to Russia's Rosneft for $1.5 billion.

LAHT editor Russ Dallen testified before Congress last month on the transaction, and last week U.S. Senate leaders joined House leaders in calling for a U.S. government Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) review of Venezuela's Citgo deal with Russia's Rosneft.

Rosneft is on the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned company list as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and seizure of Crimea. U.S. companies are forbidden from doing business with Rosneft as a result. Rosneft head Igor Sechin, a long-time associate and former aide to Russia President Vladimir Putin, is also on the sanction list.

Venezuela has also been declared a National Security threat by the President for the last three years in a row.

Aside from the fact that Venezuela is reeling from shortages of everything from food to medicine, the half-a-million dollar donation appears to be unusual for Citgo, which didn’t contribute to U.S. presidential inaugurations in 2005, 2009 or 2013.

According to the 510 page filing (see below), Citgo's contribution was among the largest from fossil-fuel companies -- which in all donated almost $3.6 million to the inaugural fund.




Trump’s inaugural committee also received support from John B. Hess, CEO of Hess Corp., who contributed $1 million. Chevron contributed $525,000. Equaling the contribution from Citgo, ExxonMobil and British Petroleum (BP) each gave $500,000. . Anadarko gave $100,000, as did Valero.

For many donors, the inaugural committee represented the last or only chance to get on the Trump bandwagon before he took the oath of office. Corporations, barred by federal law from donating to campaigns, can underwrite the costs of inaugural festivities.

Federal law allows inaugural committees to largely determine their own rules about who can contribute and how much. For his first inauguration, Obama limited donations to $50,000, and didn’t accept them from corporations or lobbyists. For his second, he raised the limit to $1 million and allowed corporate contributions. Trump’s team set no limit on the amounts individuals and corporations could give.

While the committee’s report to the FEC discloses its donors, the first glimpse into its spending doesn’t have to be shared until the spring of 2018, at the earliest, when the committee, a nonprofit, files with the Internal Revenue Service.

Four years ago, Obama raised $43.7 million for his scaled-down second inauguration, which cost $40.3 million. At his first inauguration, Obama raised more than $53 million, a record at the time.

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?Arti...tegoryId=10717

What companies spend their money on in the US has NOTHING to do with the political problems of Venezuela. Those problems are the result of the Socialist Dictatorship that they live under. The people starve and the party high ups live like kings- it is the same old Communist/Socialist story.

What this article suggests is that any extra money from anywhere should go to support the people that live under a Socialist Dictator. It is a good deal for the Dictator if he can get the people of the US to subsidize his people while he carries out his agenda. By the way, Venezuela just took over the GM factory in Caracas.

Here is another story from the Latin Times, printed in south America.

As Venezuela's Tear Gas Runs Low and Protests Continue, Cops Turn to Rocks By Carlos Camacho CARACAS -- Venezuela's National Police threw rocks at a peaceful demonstration Thursday, as inventories of tear gas seem to be running low in Venezuela, due to embargoes by materiel-producing countries and a decline in the price of oil, the commodity that brings in more than 90% of all hard currency. Each hour of heavy tear-gas action costs Maduro around $17,000 according to figures from "Voto por Venezuela", an anti-Maduro group. That comes to some 300 grenades at around $50 a pop, according to a posting by the group Thursday. When it comes to keeping million-people demonstrations under control, it seems like embattled President Nicolas Maduro is running out of options. Government-affiliated gangs known as “colectivos” have also been trying to lend a hand to keep Maduro in power, according to former Defense Minister Henry Rangel Silva, by threatening, beating up or even killing demonstrators. "Colectivos" are blamed for the murder of two anti-Maduro protesters Wednesday. Not a very effective crowd-control method for a democratic government, especially not now, when both the United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS) have warned Maduro, specifically, about the use of armed gangs of civilians for law enforcement purposes. LET’S ROCK What used to be just cops returning some rocks thrown at them by violent demonstrators has turned into a tactic, journalists in the field have been able to ascertain. But there’s a more somber side to the rock-throwing: cops cannot legally use expired tear gas, and Venezuela has not acquired any such new materiel in a long while. Venezuela has not purchased any tear gas since at least 2011, according to data from Control Ciudadano, a local NGO that monitors Venezuelan defense spending. Data from the Jane’s defense publications corroborates that. The typical tear-gas grenade has a shelf life of two to three years. At the start of the latest round of protests, on April 4th, anti-Maduro demonstrators posted pictures of expired grenades. And that, according to the 1998 Rome Statutes of the International Crime Court, can be seen as a war crime. In its report for Venezuela 2016, the Jane’s defense-analysis group of publications has Maduro spending less and less on defense because he has less and less money, due to a decline in oil prices. Venezuela went from being the South American country with the third largest defense budget before 2013 (when Hugo Chavez was still alive) to the fifth ranked in 2016, according to Jane’s. However, the report notes that the crowd-control needs of Maduro not only remain, but tend to get more and more acute. WAR CRIMES The Rome Statute codes what constitutes an offense prosecutable by the International Criminal Court (ICC). And throwing expired gas grenades at demonstrators is forbidden, according to all available information. “The Rome Statute makes it a war crime to employ “poison or poisoned weapons”” in law enforcement, including crowd control situations, according to a recent analysis by the International Law and Polilcy Institute. So, the National Guard, or Police -- the two main corps attempting to control anti-government demonstrations entering their second week -- are moving into the dangerous territory of being labeled war criminals. “The use of chemical weapons is subject to comprehensive prohibitions under international law. Not only is the use of chemical weapons implicitly prohibited by the general rule of distinction under international humanitarian law (IHL), most imaginable uses of chemical weapons would contravene the proportionality rule under human rights law”, the ILPI warns in the same post. http://www.laht.com/article.asp?Arti...tegoryId=10717

And,it looks like Venezuela is going to have to sort it out. JMO

Brazil Condemns Venezuelan Government for Violent Repression of Opposition RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil condemned the Venezuelan authorities on Thursday for their violent repression of the opposition demonstrations, which left at least 3 dead and 62 wounded, and directly pointed to the Venezuelan government as the main responsible for such violence. “The Brazilian government condemns the Venezuelan authorities’ violent repression against yesterday’s demonstrations in defense of the restoration of democratic freedoms,” the Brazilian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Thursday, adding that it is “deeply” sorry for the deaths. For the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “the primary responsibility for violence lies with the Venezuelan Government, for treating freedom of expression and opinion as a threat and for encouraging armed action against demonstrators.” Tens of thousands of people demonstrated Wednesday both against and in favor of President Nicolas Maduro’s government. According to data from the Public Ministry, during the protests in the metropolitan area of Caracas and in 14 other states, 3 people died, 62 were injured and 312 were arrested. The victims were a 23-year-old woman who was shot while passing a place close to an opposition rally in Tachira state, a 17-year-old boy who was shot in the head while passing one of the rallies in Caracas, and a police officer of the Bolivarian National Guard who was killed by a sniper in the capital. Brazil reiterated in their statement its “exhortation to the Venezuelan government to act with moderation in order to generate the conditions for peace and dialogue.” The Brazilian government also urged its Venezuelan counterpart to respect the electoral calendar and to immediately fix the date for regional elections, as well as “to restore fundamental rights and freedoms, recognize and guarantee the independence of the powers and free all political prisoners.” http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2434996&CategoryId=10717

Originally Posted by Newmexican

What companies spend their money on in the US has NOTHING to do with political problems of Venezuela. . .

Except that CITGO is owned by the Venezuelan government, and the government could have spent that money on food for the starving people in their own country.

First sentence of the article:

Citgo, the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA)

GM Ceases Operation in Venezuela as Plant is Expropriated



Venezuela falls behind on oil-for-loan deals with China, Russia


Russia could soon control a U.S. oil company (CITGO)

No money, no aid, no oatmeal from the US TAXPAYERS!

We cannot feed the entire World.

Fix your own corrupt countries and do NOT come here.

It doesn't appear the the Socialist elites are sharing the 5 Billion they just got from Russia for Citgo Bonds either.

Russia could soon control a U.S. oil company
by Heather Long @byHeatherLongApril 10, 2017: 8:53 PM ETts e

Russia is on the verge of taking control of a US oil company.

In a crazy twist of international events, Russia's state-owned oil company Rosneft might end up owning Citgo, a US energy company based in Houston, Texas.

This isn't a direct takeover. Instead, it hinges on the ability of Venezuela's state-run oil company to pay back its Russian loan. The Venezuelan company owns Citgo, which was used as collateral for the loan.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers are highly alarmed. In hotly worded letters to the Trump Administration in recent days, members of Congress and senators warned that it could be a big problem for US national security if Russia gets a hold of Citgo.

"We are extremely concerned that Rosneft's control of a major US energy supplier could pose a grave threat to American energy security, impact the flow and price of gasoline for American consumers, and expose critical US infrastructure to national security threats," a bipartisan group of senators led by Republican Marco Rubio of Florida and Democrat Bob Menendez of New Jersey wrote Monday in a letter to US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

All of this comes as tension is high between US and Russia over the conflict in Syria, cyber crime and Russia meddling in US elections, among other disputes. Rosneft is also currently on the US sanctions list for "violating international law and fueling conflict in Ukraine."

How Russia's Rosneft got to this point

This entire situation stems from the fact that Venezuela has been desperate for cash lately. Venezuela's state-run oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), has owned Citgo since the 1980s. In exchange for a loan from Rosneft in December, Venezuela's oil company put up a large stake (49.9%) in Citgo as collateral.

If PDVSA can't pay its bills on time, Rosneft will almost certainly get control of Citgo. All Rosneft would need to do is buy a few more of PDVSA's bonds to get over the 50% ownership threshold.

"The Russians have a lot to gain through the PDVSA-Rosneft-Citgo asset transfer to the detriment of US interests," wrote Republican Congressman Jeff Duncan and Democratic Congressman Albio Sires in a letter to Mnuchin on Thursday. "We urge your immediate attention and review of this matter."

termines whether foreign ownership of US companies or assets is a good idea.

While Venezuela or PDVSA won't run out of money immediately, there is a reasonable chance they will by the end of 2017. That could mean PDVSA won't be able to pay back the Russian loan.
It won't happen this week, says Francisco Monaldi, a fellow in Latin American Energy Policy at Rice University's Baker Institute. "But they may default with their next big payment in October or November."

Russia has a history of playing politics with its oil and gas supplies. It has cut off natural gas to Ukraine several times when it's unhappy with what's going on there. It's one of the key reasons Europe has been trying to wean itself off Russian gas because of national security concerns.

However, even if Rosneft does get control over Citgo, it's unlikely Russia would be able to do much to hurt US oil and gas prices.

"The Russians can't hold the US hostage," says John LaForge, an energy expert and head of Real Assets strategy at Wells Fargo. He says Citgo handles about 800,000 barrels of oil a day.

While it's not miniscule, that's just a small fraction of the nearly 20 million barrels of petroleum the US consumes daily. If Rosneft stopped refining oil at Citgo's three US refineries, LaForge says, "Other refineries would love to pick up the slack."

Citgo and the US Treasury did not return CNNMoney's request for comment.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/10/news...company-citgo/

Citgo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Website	www.citgo.com

Citgo Petroleum Corporation (or Citgo) is an American refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products.

The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), the national oil company of Venezuela.

The company has its headquarters in the Energy Corridor area of Houston, Texas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citgo

6/1/16

U.S. companies fleeing Venezuela to escape country's collapsing economy

Is tear gas a "chemical weapon"?