Venezuela: At least 21 arrested in anti-corruption crackdown

At least 21 people, including ten government employees, have been arrested in Venezuela as part of an investigation into corruption at state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Attorney General Tarek William Saab said on Saturday.

“We have detained ten officers,” said Tarek William Saab, drawing up a new assessment of the operation that began last week and is still ongoing. This anti-corruption “crusade”, named after senior officials including President Nicolás Maduro, led to the resignation of Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami, so far considered a key figure in power. Among the 21 arrested are many of his close associates.

Many businessmen were arrested

Tarek William Saab, who said he expected a dozen more arrests, said those arrested were charged with “acquisition or misuse of public assets, influence peddling, money laundering, ‘criminal association and treason.'” Among them was PDVSA’s vice president, Antonio José Pérez Suarez; , former MP, Hugbel Roa, one of the creators of the Venezuelan crypto-currency petro – in theory backed by oil – and one of the managers of these crypto-assets, Joselit Ramirez.

The 11 non-government employees arrested were businessmen. One of them, Daniel Pietro, was arrested while trying to flee to the Dominican Republic. According to the lawsuit, the authorities carried out “oil operations parallel to Petroleos de Venezuela by loading crude oil on vessels (…) without any administrative control.” The prosecutor did not disclose the amount of the fraud, but the press spoke of “3 billion dollars”. Herman Escarra, the vice president of the ruling party, mobilized $23 billion.

Venezuela’s oil industry is a target since 2017

President Maduro, who has launched anti-corruption crackdowns in the past, said on Monday that investigations began in October. According to him, he was particularly surprised by the lifestyle of these senior officials who lived like the “nouveau riche” in “extravagance”.

Since 2017, Venezuela’s oil industry has been the target of several investigations, resulting in the arrest of nearly 200 employees and two oil ministers, Eulogio del Pino and Nelson Martinez. He died in custody. Tarek William Sapp noted that three judges were arrested last week for alleged corruption and had no connection to the “crusade”. He also confirmed the arrest of Pedro Hernández, the mayor of the city of Tejerías (central-north), who was killed by the authorities on Thursday by a criminal gang led by “El Conejo” – Carlos Gómez.

(AFP)Show comments