Russian ‘footprint’ in Venezuela worries US

Washington, May 3: An influential group of Republican and Democratic US senators will file sweeping legislation on Wednesday to address the crisis in Venezuela, including sanctioning individuals responsible for undermining democracy or involved in corruption, Senate aides said.

The bill would provide $10 million in humanitarian aid to the struggling country, require the state department to coordinate a regional effort to ease the crisis, and ask US intelligence to report on the involvement of Venezuelan government officials in corruption and the drug trade.

It also calls on President Donald Trump to take all necessary steps to prevent Rosneft, Russia’s state oil company, from gaining control of any US energy infrastructure.

Rosneft has been gaining ground in Venezuela as the country scrambles for cash. The Venezuelan state oil company, PDVSA, last year used 49.9 per cent of its shares in its US subsidiary, Citgo, as collateral for loan financing by Rosneft. In total, Rosneft has lent PDVSA between $4 billion and $5 billion.

The measure comes as the international community has struggled to respond to deep economic crisis in the nation.

Some 29 people have been killed, over 400 injured and hundreds arrested since protests against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government began in April amid severe economic crises.— Reuters