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Venezuela arrests a former oil czar and accuses him of working with the US to undermine the industry

Venezuela arrests a former oil czar and accuses him of working with the US to undermine the industry

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela’s top prosecutor announced the arrest of a former oil minister on Monday, accusing him of working with the U.S. government to undermine the industry that powers the country’s economy.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced on Instagram the detention of Pedro Tellechea, who became Venezuela’s oil czar in January 2023 after one of President Nicolás Maduro’s closest allies resigned amid a flood of corruption allegations.

Saab said people from Tellechea’s inner circle had also been arrested, but did not name them. He did not name any specific allegations.

Tellechea’s tenure as head of Venezuela’s most valuable industry ended in August when Maduro transferred his duties to the vice president and named him minister of industry and national production. Maduro replaced him on Friday, appointing a close ally who was pardoned by U.S. President Joe Biden last year as part of a prisoner swap.

As oil minister, Tellechea was responsible for the state-owned crude oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, commonly known as PDVSA. Saab accused Tellechea of ​​delivering PDVSA’s automated command and control system “to a company controlled by the US intelligence services, thereby violating all legal mechanisms and our national sovereignty.”

Saab described the command system as the “brains” of PDVSA. He provided no evidence to support the allegations.

Tellechea became oil minister following the resignation of Tareck El Aissami, who had helped Maduro and his government develop a structure to circumvent international economic sanctions. El Aissami left the country amid corruption investigations that eventually led to his arrest.

Maduro appointed Alex Saab as minister of industry and national production on Friday. The new Cabinet member returned to Venezuela a free man in December after being detained since 2020, when authorities in Cape Verde arrested him on a U.S. warrant on money laundering charges. US prosecutors have long viewed him as a bagman for Maduro.