Page 5 - LatAmOil Week 25

LatAmOil COMMENTARY LatAmOil

Zepeda and Esparza co-own Libre Abordo and the parties named by the US government on
also have control of Schlager Business Group, so June 18, he was quoted as saying by Mercopress.
they have played a role in facilitating the Ven- Nieto had said earlier this month that the
ezuelan oil trade, it noted. In the meantime, financial crimes department was investigating
Leal has been serving as a liaison between Libre Libre Abordo’s involvement in an oil-for-food
Abordo, Schlager, PdVSA and Alex Nain Saab swap, but he did not divulge any further details.
Moran, who has been under US sanctions for “We have an open investigation,” he told Reuters
some time because of his contributions to Vene- in an interview. “It has not been completed, so I
zuelan oil exports. cannot give more information.”
All of the parties listed above used subter- For their part, Libre Abordo, Schlager Busi-
fuge and other tactics previously employed by ness Group and the individuals named in the US
the Rosneft subsidiaries to move Venezuelan sanctions regime have denied any wrongdoing.
oil by sea to transshipment points, where it then Even before its blacklisting, for example, Libre
could be moved to another tanker for delivery to Abordo was saying publicly that it had acted
China, according to the Treasury Department. within the bounds of the law.

Washington’s warnings Mexico in the crosshairs?
Washington has already warned third parties It remains to be seen whether Mexico City does
against aiding PdVSA in oil trading or with anything more than investigate the latest group
other activities such as shipments of fuel or of companies and persons that have drawn the
replacement parts. US Treasury Department’s ire.
Earlier this year, it attempted to halt Iranian This is not the first time that Mexican author-
ities have found themselves in this position. In
shipments of gasoline to Venezuela by issu- government mounted a probe into its own food “
ing a series of diplomatic warnings, known as 2018, former President Enrique Pena Nieto’s Mexico has
demarches, to foreign governments, seaports, frozen the bank
shipping companies and insurers. In these docu- distribution programme for Venezuela, known
ments, it said that Washington might take action as CLAP. The administration eventually decided accounts of
against any parties discovered to be assisting to fine the companies involved in the matter and
PdVSA in obtaining fuel. then declared the case closed. all the parties
This move did not succeed, insofar as it Things may be different now, though. Nieto
did not halt the Iranian gasoline deliveries or of the FIU said earlier this month that his agency sanctioned by the
convince Tehran, which is also subject to US was not looking into the charges related to the US government
sanctions, to keep its distance from Caracas. But CLAP programme on its own. Instead, he
it did emphasise Washington’s willingness to set said, the Treasury Department’s Office of For- on June 18
its sights on companies and people outside Ven- eign Assets Control (OFAC) and the US Drug
ezuela’s borders. Enforcement Agency (DEA) are co-ordinating
And now, of course, it is blacklisting several the investigation.
Mexican companies and Mexican citizens. Even so, Washington is not likely to make
Mexico City the main focus of its campaign
FIU action against Caracas. But it may be taking aim at Bei-
For its part, Mexico’s government is also cast- jing, which has been giving little-known trading
ing a suspicious eye on the same entities and companies such as the ones named in the Treas-
individuals. ury Department’s statement an incentive by con-
On June 19, Santiago Nieto, the head of Mex- tinuing to buy Venezuelan crude.
ico’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), said that If so, the Chinese government is likely to
his agency had taken action against the people push back. Officials in Beijing told Reuters ear-
and entities named in the Treasury Department’s lier this month that there had been no wrongdo-
statement on June 18. The FIU’s financial crimes ing and that Sino-Venezuelan relations were not
department has frozen the bank accounts of all improper in any way. ™

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