Venezuela’s ex-oil minister arrested for alleged ties to US

Pedro Tellechea, Venezuela’s erstwhile lipid minister, had resigned conscionable days earlier prosecutors announced his arrest.

A erstwhile Venezuelan lipid curate with alleged ties to a United States intelligence-run steadfast has been arrested, days aft helium resigned.

Pedro Tellechea, Venezuela’s onetime petroleum curate and a erstwhile authorities lipid executive, was taken into custody connected Sunday, the AFP quality bureau reported. Details of his apprehension were announced connected Monday.

Tellechea and his co-conspirators are accused of facilitating the amerciable “delivery of an automated power system” to a institution controlled by the US quality services” done Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), the state-controlled lipid institution helium operated, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said successful a statement.

Saab stated that Telelchea had violated “national sovereignty” by handing “the encephalon of PDVSA” implicit to the unnamed firm. Tellechea’s “closest collaborators” were besides seized by authorities. They were not named by prosecutors.

The apprehension of Tellechea, a erstwhile service colonel who served arsenic lipid curate for a fewer months, comes caller connected the heels of his abrupt resignation past week. On Friday, successful a station connected societal media, helium relinquished his post, citing “health problems that necessitate my contiguous attention”.

People transportation Venezuela’s nationalist emblem to protestation the predetermination results that awarded Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro a 3rd term, successful Maracaibo, Venezuela, connected July 30, 2024 [Isaac Urrutia/Reuters]

He had been appointed petroleum curate successful March 2023, but was aboriginal moved from the lipid ministry to the manufacture ministry arsenic portion of President Nicolas Maduro’s sprawling cabinet re-shuffling successful August aft the embattled president’s contested election victory. Tellechea was appointed caput of PDVSA successful January 2023, the Reuters quality agency reported.

More than 2,400 radical were arrested and astatine slightest 27 radical were killed successful Venezuela aft protests engulfed the state accusing Maduro of elector fraud.

Tellechea’s apprehension is the latest ungraded to stone the country’s troubled vigor sector, which has been reeling successful caller months and years from a flurry of transgression prosecutions of apical lipid managers and elder officials.

Venezuela’s petroleum minister, Tareck El Aissami, resigned past twelvemonth aft authorities detained six high-level officials linked to a corruption probe into PDVSA. El Aissami was besides subsequently detained.

The crackdown yet led to the apprehension of astatine slightest 21 businesspeople and elder officials related to the vanishing of proceeds of lipid shipments, totalling much than $20bn, The Associated Press quality bureau reported.

Venezuela”s Vice President Tareck El Aissami attends the swearing-in ceremonial of the caller committee of directors of Venezuelan authorities lipid institution PDVSA successful Caracas, Venezuela January 31, 2017 [Marco Bello/Reuters]

In 2023, Saab said his bureau announced it had probed 27 “corruption schemes” successful PDVSA since 2017, which helium noted had resulted successful much than 200 arrests, including the detention of immoderate of the country’s apical lipid executives.

Eulogio del Pino and Nelson Martinez, 2 different erstwhile petroleum ministers, besides antecedently faced corruption charges successful Venezuela. Martinez aboriginal died successful prison. Rafael Ramirez, different ex-oil curate who held the station from 2002 to 2014, is besides wanted by Venezuelan authorities and is presently astatine large, hiding retired successful Italy. Italy has not granted Venezuela’s extradition request.

Venezuela, which boasts the world’s largest known lipid reserves, erstwhile produced successful excess of 3 cardinal barrels of lipid per day. Output has since plummeted to little than 1 cardinal barrels amid governmental tensions, sanctions, and terrible mismanagement.

The US has fixed lipid giants similar Chevron and Repsol the greenish airy to support a foothold successful the state by applying for autarkic licences.

Source

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies