Venezuelan regime and opposition explore unprecedented cooperation to protect assets in the US

Delcy Rodriguez's interim government and a sector of the Venezuelan opposition seek to coordinate the legal defense of the country's oil assets in the United States. 

According to Reuters, lawyers for the interim government and the opposition-majority National Assembly elected in 2015 asked Manhattan-based, New York-based U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn on Monday to "stay for 45 days" a case in which creditors are seeking to seize funds linked to Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) "while they determine who will represent Venezuela's interests" in U.S. courts. 

This surprising and unprecedented appeal comes after Washington officially recognized Rodriguez as Venezuela's interim leader in mid-March and last week lifted economic sanctions imposed on her by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Both decisions allow the Chavista leader to operate more freely alongside U.S. companies and investors.

The letter sent to Netburn points to "possible cooperation" between the Rodriguez government and the opposition to safeguard Venezuelan assets on U.S. soil, including the Houston-based oil refiner and marketer CITGO, owned by PDVSA, from creditors.

Venezuelan assets in the United States have been controlled by the Venezuelan opposition since 2019, including CITGO, when Donald Trump's first administration imposed sanctions on PDVSA and pushed other mechanisms to force Nicolás Maduro out of power in the South American country.

Netburn accepted the request to suspend the case this Monday, April 6. The judge asked the disputing parties to clarify who has authority to represent Venezuela before the U.S. courts, following the recognition of Rodriguez as interim head of state.

Government and opposition lawyers, Reuters explains, must inform him by May 21 on the selection of a lawyer to permanently represent Venezuela's interests.