SEE UPDATE BELOW – 29/01/2022, 15:45 GMT – Continuing the series on young Turks who have effectively become the new commercial arm of PDVSA, there is always an international component that locals could fill, but it is often handled by very sophisticated players. These are the kind of players who can move money, shipments, and vessels almost undetected to completely evade U.S. Treasury sanctions. Sources have informed this site that Ivan Zudenkov, a former Rosneft operative in Caracas, is conducting phenomenal business with PDVSA. Shipments are purchased in cash at heavily discounted prices ($30-$40). Crude oil allocations reach between 8 and 10 million barrels per month. Zudenkov’s LinkedIn profile indicates that after nearly four years at Rosneft, he began working for Cetracore Energy from July 2018 to September 2020. No further job references are shown after that.
Sources report that Zudenkov’s power is such that he can move rough lifting windows at will, merely by making a phone call to high management at PDVSA. Quite impressive, considering he just graduated in 2009 and is no longer employed at Cetracore. Who, then, is the muscle behind this?
It is now very clear that the sanctions regime has been a spectacular failure in ousting Nicolás Maduro. The Joe Biden administration has proven to be more of the same, and its continuation of Trump-era policies in Venezuela exhibits an absolute lack of imagination and willingness to genuinely help the situation. The mistakes are compounded by the fact that the State Department continues to recognize Juan Guaidó, a puppet figure whose only contribution has been to solidify Maduro’s position. As long as there are Zudenkovs, and there will never be a shortage of them, Chavismo can easily outlast the current and upcoming U.S. administrations.
UPDATE 29/01/2022, 15:45 GMT:
This article has been modified to clarify that Ivan Zudenkov no longer works at Cetracore and that this company and its owners have no connection to him or his alleged business activities.