Representative Maria Elvira-Salazar (R-FL) recently wrote to President Donald Trump’s administration requesting they block the proposed sale of the Venezuelan democratic opposition's control over oil company CITGO.

CITGO is a US-based oil refiner, transporter, and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, and other industrial products.

PDVSA, a state-owned oil company of the Venezuelan government, is CITGO’s parent company.

However, in 2019, President Trump transferred control of PDVA’s ownership of CITGO from Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro’s government to the Venezuelan Democratic opposition.

Now, a process is underway to sell CITGO’s shares as a way of settling Venezuela’s government’s debts.

CITGO has more than 4,000 independently owned and operated gas stations across the US.

Critics of CITGO’s sale, like Representative Salazar, worry that Venezuela’s Democratic opposition will lose leverage against Dictator Maduro’s government if they lose authority over CITGO.

Salazar sent a letter to Treasury and State Secretaries Scott Bessent and Marco Rubio urging them to halt the sale of CITGO’s shares.

Arguing that the debts generated by Venezuela were caused by the corrupt Venezuelan government’s mismanagement of PDVSA and not the Democratic opposition’s stewardship of CITGO, Salazar asked the US government to halt the sale.

“The debts of Venezuela should be paid by Maduro and the rest of the mafia, not the Venezuelan opposition,” said Salazar.“They are the ones who ruined the country and ripped off their creditors.”

Salazar continued, claiming that CITGO can “play a key role” in giving Venezuela’s Democratic opposition “a chance to bring freedom and democracy back to Venezuela."

“I urge the Administration to bar the continuation of the sale process through its economic powers… and explore options to find an equitable and orderly settlement of claims against the Republic of Venezuela and PDVSA,” concluded Salazar.