Venezuela: Pedro Tellechea, former oil minister, arrested
The former official is accused by the Venezuelan dictatorship of having ties to a company controlled by U.S. intelligence services.
Photo of the minister at Miraflores Palace.
Pedro Tellechea, former Venezuelan oil minister, was arrested by the Nicolás Maduro regime. Tellechea is accused of having ties to a company controlled by U.S. intelligence services.
A statement from the Public Prosecutor's Office detailed that Tellechea, who was oil minister and president of state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) until last August, was arrested early Sunday morning.
The arrest was announced by the Venezuelan Public Ministry, controlled by Maduro.
Along with the former minister, "his most immediate collaborators" were also arrested for, among other causes, the alleged delivery of PDVSA's automated control system "to a company controlled by U.S. intelligence services."
The document does not mention any other names.
Tellechea, a 48-year-old former military officer, took over as oil minister in March 2023 after a corruption scandal that brought down his predecessor, Tareck El Aissami, who was also arrested.
He was appointed president of PDVSA in January 2023. After leaving the oil ministry in August, he was appointed minister of industry. His successor was Delcy Rodríguez. The official said he resigned due to health problems.
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