Government Seizures: Tension Rises Because of Multimillion-Dollar Debt in Energy Subsidies

Litigation attorney Lorena Martínez was cited in a Diario del Sur article about the seizure of the Colombian government's accounts as a result of its energy subsidies debt. Currently 27 energy companies claim pending payments in the form of subsidies, and the government's debt has risen to $7.6 billion. Ms. Martínez explained that generally, public resources such as the government's coffers cannot be seized, but there are jurisprudential exceptions. In this case, the obligations are backed by administrative acts that make them enforceable after 18 months of default, which allows for the seizure of national budget resources.

READ: Government Seizures: Tension Rises Because of Multimillion-Dollar Debt in Energy Subsidies