Venezuelan President, Nicholas Maduroappointed this Tuesday the current president of the state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Pedro Tellechea, as the new Minister of Petroleum after the resignation of powerful leader Tareck El Aissami punctuated by an anti-corruption “crusade” in the industry.

“I have met the president of PDVSA, engineer Pedro Tellechea, and appointed him as the new Minister of Petroleum, as part of the transformation process the industry is going through. Maximum efficiency comrade!” reported Maduro.

The appointment of Tellechea, Colonel of the Army, comes during a “special operation against corruption”. By Tuesday, 19 senior officials had been arrested, along with several of their “frontmen.”

Tellechea, a mechanical engineer with studies in public finance, replaced Asdrúbal Chávez, nephew of the late former president Hugo Chávez (1999-2013), at PDVSA in January this year. Prior to that, he headed the petrochemical subsidiary of the state-owned Pequiven and the state-owned Industria Venezolana del Aluminio (Venalum).

‘new rich’

Several of the captives have ties to El Aissami, according to the press, including Congressman Hugbel Roa, creator of the Petro, a state-owned cryptocurrency backed by the country’s vast oil reserves and the first superintendent of the Venezuelan Superintendency of Cryptoactives (SUNACRIP).

The National Assembly has on Tuesday with an official majority Roa’s immunity, which is also linked to a prostitution network that recruited young people for meetings with politicians and businessmen, sources linked to the investigations told AFP.

Those detained in Venezuela for corruption led a life of “new rich” full of “extravagances”

El Aissami, sanctioned by the United States, has held important positions for the past two decades Vice President of the country, as well as Minister of the Interior and Industry.

PDVSA, permanent booty

Prosecutor Tarek William Saab, in turn, pointed out that since 2017, the prosecution has investigated 27 “corruption schemes” in PDVSA with a balance of more than 200 inmates, among these senior industry executives.

Several of these studies point to it Rafael Ramírez, one of the trusted men of the late Chávezaccused of embezzling funds during his tenure as Minister of Petroleum (2002-2014) and Chairman of PDVSA (2004-2014).

Ramírez is a fugitive in Italy and Venezuelan authorities have unsuccessfully sought his extradition.