Trump’s White House will block attempts by the Kremlin to acquire large portions of Venezuela’s Citgo, a U.S. subsidiary of the state-owned PDVSA. Rosneft agreed to acquire half of Citgo’s shares in exchange for a $1.5 billion loan in 2016. Cash-hungry PDVSA approved the deal, leaving American lawmakers concerned that a Russian firm would control roughly five percent of U.S. refining capacity via the buyouts. Citgo controls three refineries which process 750,000 barrels of oil per day. It also owns 48 storage facilities for refined petroleum products across the country and shares ownership in nine pipelines. The White House approved new sanctions against President Nicolas Maduro’s regime last week, making it harder for Venezuela’s embattled government to secure funds as Caracas spirals towards a default. U.S. President Donald Trump signed the executive order, which prevents American financial institutions from offering new funds to Venezuela or to its state oil […]