Reporting by Mayela Armas
CARACAS
EnergiesNet.com 09 21 2022
Officials appointed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have taken charge of a Colombian fertilizer plant, the company and officials said on Tuesday, resuming control of the critical facility from the country’s opposition.
Monomeros Colombo-Venezolano, a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned Pequiven, had been controlled by a board appointed by Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido since 2019, when Colombia, the United States and other countries recognized him as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. Some labeled Maduro a dictator who rigged his 2018 re-election.
The changes in Monomeros’ management come as Maduro and Colombia’s newly elected president, Gustavo Petro, the country’s first leftist president, restore and strengthen economic and military ties.
Colombia’s Superintendency of Companies, responsible for inspection and oversight duties of businesses, ratified the new board of directors of Monomeros this week.
The new board is already working out of the company’s headquarters in the Colombian city of Barranquilla, a statement and tweets from the company showed.
“We are going to show the status that Monomeros had,” said Pedro Tellechea, president of Pequiven, in a broadcast on Venezuelan state television. “We are going to recover our installed capacity,” he added.
Venezuela expects to send a first ship in the next few days with inputs for the production of fertilizers at Monomeros, Venezuela’s economy vice presidency said in a statement.
The company came under scrutiny between September 2021 and August 2022, after allegations of mismanagement, with the opposition agreeing to set up a commission to investigate the situation at the plant.
Monomeros’ outgoing manager, Guillermo Rodriguez Laprea, told Reuters that challenges remain at the fertilizer producer and the company could face issues with financing.
Rodriguez Laprea will be replaced by Ninoska La Concha, one of Pequiven’s managers. The new board of directors is made up of three Venezuelans and two Colombians.
In June, the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control extended Monomeros’ license for another year, which allows it to maintain operations despite current sanctions against Venezuela.
Reporting by Mayela Armas; Additional reporting by Deisy Buitrago; editing by Richard Pullin
reuters.com 08 21 2022
