The Venezuelan Oil Minister, Tareck El Aissami, resigned as a result of recent corruption cases affecting the state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
“By virtue of the investigations that have been initiated into serious acts of corruption in PDVSA, I have made the decision to present my resignation as Minister of Petroleum, with the purpose of fully supporting, accompanying and backing this process,” El Aissami has published in Twitter.
El Aissami has also stated that in his capacity as a “revolutionary militant” he makes himself available to the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) led by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, to “support this crusade (…) against the anti-values that We are obliged to fight, even with our lives”.
This same Monday, the arrest of the pro-government deputy Hugbel Roa was reported in an operation by the National Anti-Corruption Police. Roa was Minister of Higher Education and is now being investigated for corruption crimes at PDVSA, according to judicial sources cited by the Últimas Noticias portal.
Roa is associated with a PDVSA subsidiary, specifically with Petrocedeño, a mixed state with shareholdings from France and Norway. “To speak with the president of Petrocedeño, you had to go through Hugbel,” said a source linked to the industry.
On Sunday, the Public Ministry reported the appointment of five national prosecutors with jurisdiction over corruption, organized crime and human rights.