In March, the Venezuelan National Assembly, which is currently controlled by the opposition under Juan Guaido, has appointed its people to the board of national petrochemical companies of Petroquimica de Venezuela (Pequiven, subsidiary of PDVSA) and Monomeros Colombo Venezolanos (Colombian branch of Pequiven).
"They try to destroy the company which used to be fully functional and which in 2018 was producing 860,000 tons of fertilizers, which is at 92 percent of its capacity, and in 2019 is producing at 22 percent of its capacity, or 176,000 tons, in 2019," Quevedo said.
According to the minister, 130 employees were fired and one of the company's industrial facilities was shut down after a massive explosion took place there on Thursday. He is convinced that it all is part of Guaido's plan to destroy the company and sell it out by parts.
"We call upon the Venezuelan and international justice to investigate these actions which are, as I see it, of the most dishonest kind a Venezuelan and his foreign accomplices could commit," Quevedo added.
After the political crisis broke out in Venezuela in late January, the United States has imposed several rounds of sanctions against Venezuelan officials and entities and blocked $7 billion in assets belonging to PDVSA and its subsidiaries. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has denounced the sanctions as an illegal attempt to seize the country’s sovereign assets.
