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The U.S. Treasury Department finally included PDVSA in its sanctions regime against Nicolas Maduro's kleptocracy. The ratcheting up came after the Trump administration recognised Juan Guaidó as interim President of Venezuela. Today, Germany, France, UK, Spain, Austria and Sweden announced their respective recognition of Guaidó, given Maduro's failure to seek a meaningful solution: i.e. call for free and transparent elections.

Three separate sources have now reported the following scheme to this site: Aliou Boubacar Diallo, controls a gold mine in Mali called Wassoul'or. Noor Capital's Olivier Couriol (DOB 05/11/1964 traveling on French passport no 17FV26627), Rashed Al Suwaidi and Abdul Jabbar Al-Sayegh are (silent) partners of Diallo as per Malian sources.

Social sciences scholars will look at Venezuela in the future as a sui generis case. A self-described socialist revolution, led by an idealistic military putschist, that managed to annihilate one of the best managed State-owned energy conglomerates the world has seen, producing along the way the largest humanitarian crisis to affect the Western Hemisphere. Out of nowhere, a fresh face (Congress Chair Juan Guaidó) emerged, gaining wide international support that moved from symbolic to real implications -for the existing regime- in a matter of hours. Every imaginable superlative applies.

This site's editor is glad to see that what is published here somehow becomes reality. In September 2018 we argued "SDN / SSI PDVSA, then negotiate", and a few hours ago U.S. Treasury sanctioned PDVSA (see below). Only thing to add is that in whatever talks / negotiations with Nicolas Maduro's regime ever to be had, only one goal ought to be pursued -in our view, and that is to remove his wretched regime from power.

Nicolas Maduro is in a bit of a pickle: the Trump administration has recognised Juan Guaidó as legitimate President of Venezuela and, crucially, Carlos Vecchio as his official U.S. Chargé d'Affairs. What this means in practical terms is that the U.S. government will only talk business with Guaidó through Vecchio. Maduro's retort?

The state of play is the following: Juan Guaidó, head of Venezuela's Congress, declared himself as caretaker president of the country. Guaidó based his move on an interpretation of article 233 of the Chavista Constitution, that establishes that when an absolute absence ("falta absoluta") happens by swearing in day (10 January), the Head of Congress must take charge and call for fresh elections within 30 days. Given that Nicolas Maduro's last electoral victory was not seen as legitimate, many countries pledged recognition to Guaidó, officially.

Notice mention to Paulo Nacif below: