Cash-strapped Venezuela a major funder of Trump inauguration
Source: Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Nicolas Maduro may be struggling to feed Venezuela but his socialist administration still managed to make a $500,000 donation to Donald Trump's inauguration, records released Wednesday show.
Inaugural committee records filed with the Federal Election Commission show Citgo Petroleum, a U.S. affiliate of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, was one of the biggest corporate donors to events surrounding the swearing-in ceremony.
The donation topped that of some U.S. corporate giants including Pepsi ($250,000), Walmart ($150,000) and Verizon ($100,000) and was on par with the likes of JP Morgan Chase and Exxon, which each donated $500,000. It came in under Bank of America's $1 million contribution.
Even while accusing the U.S. of trying to overthrow him, Maduro has been careful not to antagonize the new U.S. president. But the Trump administration has recently stepped up criticism of Venezuela's government. In February, Trump met with the wife of a jailed opposition leader at the White House and on Tuesday the U.S. State Department issued a statement decrying violence against protesters.
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