"Oil and gas workers reject the aggression of imperialism, which is seeking to steal the wealth of the people through the appointment of the board of directors", the company wrote on Twitter, attaching a photo of the PDVSA staff captioned "CITGO is not for sale" in Spanish.
🇻🇪Comandante Hugo Chávez: "Queremos que el petróleo venezolano sirva para la paz y para el amor, para sacar de la miseria a tanta gente.” #CitgoNoSeVende pic.twitter.com/fqEx6sOmuM
— PDVSA (@PDVSA) 14 февраля 2019 г.
On Wednesday, the opposition-run National Assembly endorsed members for the special board of directors of PDVSA whose only goal would be to appoint new directors for CITGO and its subsidiaries. Later, Guaido’s office in the United States announced CITGO's new board of directors. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has promised to bring to trial those who would recognize the new appointments.
READ MORE: How to Justify Attempted Coup d'Etat in Venezuela Using Fake News?
On January 28, the United States blocked $7 billion in PDVSA assets in its jurisdiction and imposed a ban on deals with the entity as part of efforts to facilitate a power transfer. The decision came swiftly after Washington recognised Juan Guaido, head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly as the country’s interim president.
In the meantime, Russia, China, Turkey, Mexico, and other countries backed Maduro amid the political crisis.
