- The sale of Monómeros by the Venezuelan government is motivated by an effort to head off a likely crackdown by the US Treasury Department.
MEXICO CITY, Mexico, (venezuelanalysis.com) – Monómeros has requested permission from Colombia’s Corporation Superintendency to proceed with the sale of assets to Colombian fertilizer company Nitrofert, marking an important step forward in the privatization of the Venezuelan state-owned agrochemical company.
The sale of Monómeros by the Venezuelan government is motivated by an effort to head off a likely crackdown by the US Treasury Department.
The Venezuelan agrochemical company, a subsidiary of state-owned Pequiven, currently operates under sanctions waivers issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control that are set to expire this year. Given the White House’s recent decision to escalate coercive measures against Venezuela, it is widely expected that this waiver will not be renewed.
Last week, the Monómeros board sent a letter to Colombia’s corporate watchdog requesting permission to sell its assets. The move underscores Caracas’ desire to transfer ownership of the agrochemical firm.
Founded as a joint venture between Venezuela and Colombia, Monómeros became fully owned by Venezuela’s Pequiven in 2006. The subsidiary plays a critical role in supplying fertilizer and other agrochemicals used by Colombian coffee, potato and palm oil producers and stabilizing agricultural input prices, which directly impacts rural livelihoods. Accordingly, Colombian president Gustavo Petro has previously expressed his firm opposition to the potential sale.
“The privatization and sale of Monómeros will lead to higher prices for primary agricultural products in our countries,” read a public letter published by Petro in late 2024. Bogotá was exploring financing options for a state purchase of Monómeros but there has been no reported progress.
Colombia’s Corporation Superintendency, which has previously stepped in to oversee the company given its importance in Colombia’s food production, must approve the sale. Former Colombian energy minister Amilkar Acosta Medina told Inside LR that he expected the sale to generate tensions with Washington given that it would imply money would flow to a Venezuelan state-owned company.
The potential buyer is said to be Nitrofert, a firm led by Venezuelan national Jorge Pacheco, who has alleged close ties to the Colombian far right and the Venezuelan opposition, specifically to hardline figures such as Leopoldo López and his protege Juan Guaidó, the one-time self-proclaimed “interim president” of Venezuela.
Nitrofert is connected to Nitron Group, a US-based trader specialized in fertilizer products. Nitron Group is said to be the number two distributor of agrochemical inputs in the world. An acquisition of Monómeros would give it further power to set prices in the fertilizer market and boost its dominance over the Colombian market.
Monómeros suffered greatly when it was run by the US-backed hardline opposition. While managed by successive Guaidó-appointed boards, Monómeros was plagued by scandals and corruption allegations, which severely impacted its productivity and generated serious issues for Colombia’s rural producers.
