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Venezuela’s chief prosecutor says

US citizen tried to sabotage oil facilities

VENEZUELA’S chief prosecutor has said that explosion at El Palito refinery, located in Cara-
a US citizen who was recently arrested in the bobo State in the north of Venezuela.
country has been charged in an alleged terrorist In May, the US soldier Jordan Goudreau
plot involving energy infrastructure. The man led a separate failed plot to overthrow Maduro,
appears to have been involved in a plan to stir seize the presidential palace and whisk him off
unrest by sabotaging oil refineries and electrical to Florida to face drug-trafficking charges. In
services, in an effort to stir unrest, according to August, two former US soldiers were sentenced
an Associated Press report. by a court in Venezuela to 20 years in prison for
Chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab said the plot. The court found Airan Berry and Luke
on state television that three Venezuelan con- Denman guilty of conspiracy, terrorism and
spirators had helped the man, Matthew John illicit trafficking of weapons.
Heath, the report added. All four were arrested Maduro has accused the US of manipu-
together near a pair of oil refineries on the coun- lating political opposition to steal Venezuela’s
try’s northern Caribbean coast, Saab said. oil wealth. For his part, US President Donald
Mobile phones seized from the men when Trump only recognises the opposition leader
they were arrested indicated that suspected Juan Guaidó as the country’s legitimate leader.
targets included military installations, a large The Trump administration imposed sweep-
bridge in the state of Zulia and dilapidated oil ing sanctions on Venezuela’s state-run oil firm
refineries in the state of Falcón, said the report, PdVSA in January 2019, aimed at hitting the
citing Venezuelan authorities. country’s oil exports and putting pressure on
Heath has been charged with terrorism, Maduro to step down while backing an interim
trafficking illegal weapons and conspiracy, the government. ™
authorities said.
Earlier this month, Venezuela’s President
Nicolás Maduro reported that the country had
captured a US spy near oil refineries. The man
was captured by Venezuelan authorities near
two oil refineries called Amuay and Cardon in
the north-western state of Falcón, Maduro said
in a televised address.
He said the man was “serving as a marine on
CIA bases in Iraq,” without giving any further
details, according to a BBC report.
Maduro also said that the country had
recently unearthed a plot to carry out an Chief prosecutor Saab outlined charges against a US citizen (Photo: VTV)

Canada’s Crystallex asks US court

to set date for PDVH stock sale

Crystallex, a Canadian mining company, has firm asked Judge Leonard Stark to set January
asked a judge in the US federal court system to 11, 2021, as the starting date for sales of PDVH
set a date for the sale of shares in PdV Holding stock. It justified its request by pointing to pre-
(PDVH), a US-based affiliate of Venezuela’s vious developments in the case – namely, the
national oil company (NOC) PdVSA. PDVH is introduction in August 2018 of a motion assert-
the parent company of US-based downstream ing that there was no separation between Citgo’s
operator Citgo Petroleum. management and the Venezuelan government
In documents submitted to the US District and the passing of that motion in July 2019 by
Court for the District of Delaware, the Canadian Stark.

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 38 24•September•2020