ConocoPhillips won approval on Friday to enforce an $8. 5 billion arbitral award against Venezuela despite the country ignoring the litigation for more than two years, after a federal judge in Washington, D. C. , ruled that Caracas’ chances of success in an ongoing annulment proceeding are minimal. Turning first to the fact that the country had opted not to enter an appearance in the case, U. S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols concluded that Venezuela did not have a good reason for ignoring the litigation. By Caroline Simson. Full Text -> Law360

Traducción de cortesía -> ConocoPhillips obtuvo la aprobación el viernes para hacer cumplir un laudo arbitral de 8.500 millones de dólares contra Venezuela a pesar de que el país ignoró el litigio durante más de dos años, luego de que un juez federal en Washington, D.C. dictaminara que las posibilidades de éxito de Caracas en un procedimiento de anulación en curso son mínimas. Volviendo primero al hecho de que el país había optado por no comparecer en el caso, el juez federal de distrito Carl J. Nichols concluyó que Venezuela no tenía una buena razón para ignorar el litigio.

 Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA will make its case at a U.S. trial beginning on Tuesday that it is not liable for nearly $150 million in debts owed to a unit of Siemens Energy because U.S. sanctions prevented it from making payments. By Luc Cohen. Full Text -> Metro.US

La petrolera estatal venezolana PDVSA argumentará su caso en un juicio en Estados Unidos, que comienza este martes, que no es responsable del impago de casi 150 millones de dólares en deudas contraídas con una unidad de Siemens Energy porque las sanciones de Estados Unidos le impidieron realizar los pagos.

Maduro said that before temporarily suspending external debt, they need an “integral restructuring”. Yesterday, Venezuelans in Apure suffered a “new FARC terrorist attack” on a FANB checkpoint. After Maduro’s proposal to exchange oil for vaccines, Dr. Julio Castro said that the problem is political, not financial. By Naky Soto. Full Text -> CaracsChronicles

Debt-trap diplomacy is one of the significant hallmarks of China’s foreign policy. Over the turn of the century, as Beijing’s economic clout began to expand inexorably, China started saddling borrowing nations with enormous debts so as to increase its leverage over them. After Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Venezuela appears to be the latest in the list of nations staggering under the shadow of China’s crippling debts. Full Text ->OPIndia

The commitment was titanic. China would lend Venezuela US$1 billion as soon as the deal was sealed and, in exchange, state-run mining company CVG Ferrominera Orinoco would deliver 42.96 million tonnes of iron ore to Chinese steel company Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation (Wisco) over the next eight years. The agreement was signed in 2009, the same year that production at the Venezuelan company, part of the Corporación Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) conglomerate, plummeted by around 35%. By María Antonieta Segovia. Full Text->DiálogoChino

Can they ever pay it off? By Sebastien Roblin. Full text-> The National Interest

Venezuela will sell some of its shares in the CAF Latin American development bank to pay down its debt with the lender, according to an opposition lawmaker who posted a copy of the resolution on Twitter on Tuesday. By Mayela Armas, Luc Cohen. Full text -> The New York Times

Venezuela is planning to sell some of its shares in the CAF Latin American development bank to pay down its debt with the lender, representatives of the South American country’s opposition said. By Mayela Armas and Luc Cohen. Full text -> Reuters

Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA said its financial debt fell less than 0.1% in 2019 from the prior year to some $34.5 billion, though it remained in default on its bonds as sanctions freeze it out of the global banking system. By Reuters, Full text -> OAG360