Venezuela's Finance Minister Says He’s Fed Up With White House Actions

(Bloomberg) -- Venezuela’s finance minister has had enough of Washington.

Simon Zerpa watched CNN en Espanol with disgust Monday as White House officials unveiled new sanctions against the state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela and the nation’s central bank. Unsurprisingly, Zerpa, sanctioned himself by the U.S. in 2017, could barely contain his anger.

“What the U.S. government is doing is something new in the history of humanity,” he said in an interview.

Here’s what else he had to say:

• On the directors opposition leader Juan Guaido is appointing at Citgo: “It’s very strange what the U.S. government is doing. PDVSA is the shareholder of Citgo."
  • “His plans are unreal. If they were not so dangerous, including the support of the U.S. government, it would be laughable.”
• On recent communications with U.S. bondholders: “They deal with our lawyers. It is the best given OFAC sanctions.”
• On Guaido, who has been recognized by the U.S. as the legitimate president of Venezuela, potentially appointing his own finance minister: “At least he should tell me who it is so I can accommodate him in my office.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Bartenstein in New York at bbartenstei3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rita Nazareth at rnazareth@bloomberg.net, Anne Reifenberg, David Gillen

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