(Trinidad Guardian) Any nation that assists Venezuela in avoiding embargoes will face sweeping sanctions imposed by the United States.
The warning comes from the US government after it became aware of reports that a shipment of Paria Fuel Trading Company fuel that left Trinidad and Tobago’s shores for Aruba may have eventually been sent to Venezuela in defiance of US sanctions against that country.
The Aruban refinery is linked to Citgo, a subsidiary of the Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA and reports surfaced last week that the fuel cargo was shipped to Venezuela after it arrived in Aruba.
As these reports continue to swirl, a US State Department representative has told Guardian Media that the United States has warned other nations against assisting embattled Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and his regime.
“The United States has put foreign institutions on notice that they will face sanctions for being involved in facilitating illegitimate transactions that benefit Nicolas Maduro and his corrupt network,” the representative said.
“The United States condemns all attempts by Maduro and his supporters to steal resources from the Venezuelan people.”
The local arm of the US Embassy’s Public Affairs Section was much more vocal about the possible transfer of fuel from T&T to Venezuela.
In response to questions on Wednesday, the US Embassy said that the “US government was aware of reports indicating that a shipment of gasoline from Trinidad and Tobago may have gone to Venezuela”.
It noted that if T&T is found to have assisted Venezuela in getting fuel, it could open the country up to US sanctions.
“In general, entities and individuals risk exposure to US sanctions by operating in the Venezuelan oil sector,” the US Embassy’s Public Affairs Section said.
“This remains true regardless of how the transactions with Venezuela are conducted, whether using currency or in-kind exchanges and without respect to whether such conduct is otherwise legal under another country’s laws.”
On April 21, a shipment of excess fuel left Pointe-a Pierre and was sold and shipped to Aruba.
The Aruban refinery has been mothballed since 2012 and was only recently transferred from PDVSA to the Aruban government after US sanctions dried up credit lines for the Venezuelan company. There have been unsubstantiated reports coming out of Venezuelan media that the fuel was bound for Venezuela.
Addressing this, the US Embassy said, “Some of the companies engaged in the Venezuelan oil trade business attempt to disguise the true nature of their business. These activities help them evade US and other countries’ efforts to prevent corrupt activities and to preserve assets for the benefit of the Venezuelan people.”
The Embassy confirmed that it will “actively investigate all efforts by (Venezuelan President Nicolas) Maduro and his supporters to circumvent US sanctions.
The Embassy added that the US government will also take “appropriate action” against those determined to be engaged in sanctionable activity as well as those found violating US sanctions.
Ruperti, according to George, was only able to get 150,000 barrels of fuel on April 21.
“We did our due diligence. Everything was above board,” George said in a telephone interview last Thursday.
“You have to understand that we buy in January for February and we buy in February for March. When the restrictions were imposed, it meant we had excess fuel because less people were travelling.”
There has also been speculation that Ruperti bought fuel from the US, stored it in tanks near the defunct Petrotrin and then transferred it to his vessel. But George said that was not true.
“We just don’t have the space to store fuel for anyone. We need all the storage space we have,” he said.
Since it began pursuing the story, Guardian Media has tried several times to contact several Government officials for comment on the matter, including Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Energy Minister Franklin Khan and National Security Minister Stuart Young. However, there has been no response forthcoming from either of them.
