Colombian President Rejects Privatization of Venezuela-owned Petrochemical Firm Monómeros

Mexico City, Mexico, November 11, 2024 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Colombian President Gustavo Petro expressed his firm opposition to the potential sale of Venezuelan state-owned agrochemical company Monómeros.

In a letter sent to his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro, Petro said he objected to plans by Industry Minister Alex Saab to privatize the company that plays a key role in Colombia’s agricultural sector, supplying fertilizer and other agrochemicals used by coffee, potato and palm oil production.

“The privatization and sale of Monómeros will lead to higher prices for primary agricultural products in our countries,” read Petro’s letter dated Friday. “In addition, it will force our farmers to depend on foreign products and the price of agricultural inputs on the international market.” 

“There is no doubt that this decision could condemn millions of people who represent the basis of food sovereignty in our region to poverty and hunger,” the Colombian president went on to argue.

Petro has maintained a longstanding interest in normalizing the operation of the agrochemical producer, a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state petrochemical Pequiven, due to its critical role in keeping prices low and stable for the country’s agricultural producers.

“For more than five decades, Monómeros has benefited Colombian and Venezuelan farmers through the production and sale of agricultural inputs at a fair price. Currently, Monómeros supplies urea  to millions of Venezuelan and Colombian families […]. It also ensures them sufficient income for a decent life,” read the president’s letter.

The proposal to privatize Monómeros is reportedly being floated by newly minted Industry Minister Alex Saab. A Colombian-Venezuelan businessman, Saab gained international recognition following his arrest during a refueling stopover in Cape Verde in June 2020 on his way to Iran to negotiate food and fuel import deals amidst US sanctions. He served as a Maduro government envoy at the time.

Venezuela successfully negotiated the release of Saab late last year. He was appointed to the cabinet in October following a corruption scandal that saw his predecessor ousted from the Industry Ministry.

On social media, Petro was less diplomatic, claiming Saab’s proposal was on par with previous “insane” privatization proposals. Before becoming president, Petro had harshly criticized Saab and his business practices.

Founded as a joint venture between Venezuela and Colombia, Monómeros became fully owned by Pequiven in 2006, when the Chávez government in Venezuela bought out shares from Ecopetrol and Dutch firm Koninklijke DSM to become the sole proprietor of the firm.

The potential sale of Monómeros was first reported in March, with Colombian state-owned oil firm Ecopetrol rumored as a potential buyer. However, Ecopetrol denied the claims at the time.

Colombian news outlet El Colombiano claimed that the current effort to sell Monómeros is driven by concern in Caracas over the recent election of Donald Trump as president in the United States. The agrochemical company currently operates under sanctions waivers issued by the US Treasury Department. However those exemptions could be lifted should Trump opt to impose the full scope of sanctions on Venezuela as he did during his first term.

According to the outlet, Monómeros is at great risk of falling once again under a sanctions regime following a reported transfer of funds to its parent company, the state-owned Pequiven, via a Hong Kong intermediary, a transaction prohibited by the US Treasury Department.

El Colombiano further stated that Petro was aware of the potential sale of Monómeros for weeks but only recently changed his position on its sale. 

“Agriculture in Colombia and Venezuela is a cornerstone for the transition from an extractive economic system to a productive system that generates wealth,” said Petro in the post that accompanied his letter to Maduro.

Rodrigo Ramírez, a Monómeros board member appointed by the Colombian government, announced his resignation from the post in opposition to the reported sale plans.

Considered Venezuela’s second most valuable foreign asset after CITGO, Monómeros was seized by the conservative government of Iván Duque in 2019 who handed control over to the self-proclaimed “interim government” run by Juan Guaidó. 

The firm suffered greatly under the leadership of the US-backed hardline opposition. While run by successive Guaidó-appointed boards, Monómeros was plagued by scandals and corruption allegations, which severely impacted its productivity and generated serious problems for Colombia’s rural producers. It was eventually put under the control of Colombia’s corporate watchdog before being returned to the Venezuelan government following the assumption of Petro as president in Colombia.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.