( Spanish) — Pedro Rafael Tellechea was appointed this Tuesday as the new Venezuelan Oil Minister after the resignation of Tareck El Aissami a day earlier.
El Aissami said that he was leaving office “by virtue of the investigations that have been initiated into serious acts of corruption in Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA)” and with the aim of “accompanying and fully supporting this process.”
On the appointment of Tellechea, the questioned president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, wrote in a tweet: “I appointed him as the new Minister of Petroleum in the framework of the transformation process that the industry is undergoing.”
Who is Pedro Tellechea?
We present some important points to know the trajectory of the new minister appointed by Maduro:
tellechea He has a degree in Military Arts and Sciences and a mechanical engineer.
Between his previous workswas general manager of the mixed company Methanol de Oriente (Metor SA) and president of the Venezuelan Aluminum Industry CA
In September 2020Tellechea was appointed president of Petroquímica de Venezuela SA (Pequiven), company that is affiliated to the Ministry of Petroleum.
Two years later, in September 2022, Tellechea led the return of Monomeros, a subsidiary of PDVSA in Colombia, at the hands of the Venezuelan government, said Petróleos de Venezuela. During the government of Iván Duque, this company had been managed by the National Assembly elected in 2015, whose legitimacy Duque recognized.
Just this year January 6thMaduro appointed Tellechea as president of PDVSA. Maduro said at the time that “with his great experience at the head of Pequiven” Tellechea “will consolidate the momentum of the national oil industry”.
Petróleos de Venezuela indicates on its website that Tellechea was appointed as the new Minister of Oil, but points out that continues to be the president of PDVSA and its board of directors. The Government of Venezuela also mentions that Tellechea continues to be run by PDVSA from his new position as Minister of Petroleum.
At least 19 arrests in relation to an alleged corruption plot
The president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Jorge Rodríguez, reported this Tuesday that 19 people have been detained so far in the framework of an investigation for alleged crimes of administrative corruption and embezzlement in different branches of public power, including the state oil industry. Rodríguez mentioned that among the people arrested are mayors, officials and judges, although he did not mention their names.
With information from Osmary Hernández and Gerardo Lemos, from .
