Venezuela arrests former oil minister accused of US links

Venezuelan authorities have arrested a former oil minister accused of links to a firm controlled by U.S. intelligence services, the public prosecutor's office has announced. 

Pedro Tellechea, who served as petroleum minister and head of state oil company PDVSA until August, was detained on Oct. 20 along with "his closest collaborators," Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a statement.

They face accusations including "the delivery" of PDVSA's automated control system "to a company controlled by the U.S. intelligence services," it said, without naming the other detainees.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro tapped Tellechea, an army colonel, to be oil minister in March 2023 after his predecessor Tareck El Aissami resigned over an anti-corruption crackdown.

El Aissami and dozens of others were later arrested as part of a probe into an alleged multi-million dollar crypto fraud at PDVSA.

Tellechea, a mechanical engineer by training, stepped down in August to become industry minister.

On Oct. 18, Maduro replaced him in that post with his ally Alex Saab, the Colombian businessman released by the United States in December as part of a prisoner swap.

Tellechea said on social media that he had resigned as industry minister due to "health problems that require my immediate attention."

Venezuela's oil sector is regularly hit by scandals.

Rafael Ramirez, who was oil minister from 2002 to 2014, is a fugitive in Italy.