Pedro Tellechea, Venezuela’s former oil minister, had resigned just days before prosecutors announced his arrest.
A former Venezuelan oil minister with alleged ties to a United States intelligence-run firm has been arrested, days after he resigned.
Pedro Tellechea, Venezuela’s onetime petroleum minister and a former state oil executive, was taken into custody on Sunday, as reported by the AFP news agency, with details of his arrest announced on Monday.
Tellechea and his co-conspirators are accused of facilitating the illegal “delivery of an automated control system” to a company controlled by the US intelligence services through Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), the state-controlled oil company he operated, according to Attorney General Tarek William Saab.
Saab stated that Tellechea had violated “national sovereignty” by handing over “the brain of PDVSA” to the unnamed firm. Authorities also seized Tellechea’s “closest collaborators,” who were not named by prosecutors.
The arrest of Tellechea, a former army colonel who briefly served as oil minister, immediately followed his sudden resignation last week due to health concerns.
Tellechea was appointed petroleum minister in March 2023 and later moved to the industry ministry as part of President Nicolas Maduro’s cabinet re-shuffling. He had also taken the helm of PDVSA in January 2023, as reported by Reuters.
Following protests and allegations of voter fraud against Maduro, over 2,400 people were arrested and at least 27 killed in Venezuela.
Tellechea’s arrest adds to a wave of scandals in Venezuela’s energy sector, marked by criminal prosecutions of top oil managers and officials in recent years.
Previous petroleum minister Tareck El Aissami resigned last year after several high-level officials connected to a corruption probe at PDVSA were detained, including El Aissami himself.
By 2023, Saab’s office had investigated 27 “corruption schemes” in PDVSA, resulting in 200+ arrests, including top oil executives.
Eulogio del Pino and Nelson Martinez, former petroleum ministers, faced corruption charges, with Martinez passing away in prison. Another ex-minister, Rafael Ramirez, is wanted and evading arrest in Italy.
Venezuela, known for its vast oil reserves, has seen a sharp decline in oil production amid political turmoil, sanctions, and mismanagement.
The US has permitted oil companies like Chevron and Repsol to continue operating in Venezuela through independent licences.
