Tarek El Aissami, Venezuela’s former oil minister and senior member of the country’s unlocked ruling socialist government, was indicted on Tuesday on charges of treason, money laundering and corruption after disappearing for a year. He resurfaced in handcuffs.
El Aissami is purged It was carried out by socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro in March 2023 as part of an “anti-corruption” investigation. Administration officials have accused him of stealing billions of dollars in oil revenue from the state-run Venezuelan Petroleum Company (PDVSA) during his tenure as oil minister from 2020 to 2023.
El Aissami “resigned” as oil minister in March 2023 to “cooperate” with an investigation into the “disappearance” of $3 billion in oil revenue from Venezuela’s national treasury.President Maduro’s resignation and the de facto purge of El Aissami and his inner circle It was deleted His faction of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
In addition to El Aissami, his top frontman, businessman Samarc López, and Simon Zerpa, a former finance minister and close Maduro ally, were also arrested on Tuesday.
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced the arrests at a press conference, saying the three men would receive “exemplary sanctions” for conspiring to “destroy the Venezuelan economy” and committing “multiple crimes.” he claimed.
“These villains took advantage of the status given to them by the state and formed alliances with them at the wrong time, clearly to make important economic advances. [fake companies] They are trying to destroy the economy with this economic conspiracy,” Saab said. Said.
Saab showed a photo of El Aissami in handcuffs, escorted by Venezuelan intelligence officials. He also showed images of Lopez and Zerpa in custody. Venezuela’s attorney general described El Aissami as a “secretary of state.” Pranath [Venezuelan criminal fiefdom-esque system]” conspiracy.
Ultima Hora | Tarek El Aissami’s prison: PDVSA mega-corruption case reveals images of Venezuelan oil spill (details) https://t.co/pC07ErEIxv pic.twitter.com/7HMpg9rYqT
— AlbertoRodNews (@AlbertoRodNews) April 9, 2024
The former “oil czar” is a protégé of the late dictator Hugo Chávez and a high-ranking member of the Maduro government, holding a wide range of positions in the Venezuelan government since 2003, becoming the country’s vice president in 2017, and vice president of the country in 2018.・Aisami has been around for a long time believed it It maintains close ties with the Shiite jihadist organization Hezbollah and acts as a mediator between Hezbollah and the Maduro regime.
report published In 2017, El Aissami suggested that he had sold Venezuelan passports to Hezbollah members while he was interior minister.
American authorities have long accused El Aissami of being a drug lord. In 2017, under former President Donald Trump’s administration, the United States designated El Aissami as a specially designated drug trafficker and imposed sanctions. sanctions on him. Since 2020, the US has his $10 million under management bounty For any information leading to his arrest and/or conviction. It is still unclear at the time of writing how El Aissami’s arrest in Venezuela will affect his compensation.
El Aissami also served as governor of Aragua state from 2012 to 2017. Aragua was once a local trade union gang, but it grew exponentially to become a transnational criminal organization, operating in several parts of Latin America.・It is the birthplace of Aragua.countries and America.
According to Saab, El Aissami and his associates used their position to carry out “illegal oil operations” and allocate crude oil shipments “without any kind of management control or PDVSA guarantees.” .
Payments for allegedly illegally allocated oil shipments were never made and are suspected to have been misappropriated through the use of virtual currency assets and investments in local real estate properties and construction projects, the attorney general said.
Saab also claims that El Aissami and his allies “sent briefcases filled with cash and oil overseas,” with overall losses estimated at “several billions” of U.S. dollars. he emphasized.
Saab also allegedly linked all three to a “prostitution network” of young Venezuelan men and foreign girls that was also used to launder money. Saab claimed that El Aissami’s preferred “advances” (local slang for high-class prostitutes) were identified as Elizabeth Yepez, and that Yepez had fled to the United States.
Ultima Hora | Tarek William Saab Vincula and Tarek El Aissami employ prostitutes at their restaurants.
“The priority for Tarek El Asami is the preparation of EEUU and Ely James. Her real name is Elizabeth Ipes”, asserted. https://t.co/pC07ErEIxv pic.twitter.com/q4yZIX2zZY
— AlbertoRodNews (@AlbertoRodNews) April 9, 2024
Saab also said that Maduro’s government maintained complete silence regarding El Aissami for more than a year after the March 2023 purge, prompting local residents and the media to ask him about El Aissami’s whereabouts. He also mentioned the facts.
“Doubters should now stick their tongues where they like,” Saab said. Said. “This was one of the most difficult conspiracies to cover up responsibility.”
El Aissami counted on consistent praise and protection from dictator Nicolas Maduro until his entire faction was expelled from the ruling socialist regime in March 2023. In 2019, President Maduro publicly defended El Aissami against US accusations over his ties to Hezbollah.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (right) speaks with Venezuelan Vice President Tarek El Aissami during a press conference on Thursday, March 22, 2018 in Caracas, Venezuela. (Carlos Becerra/Bloomberg via Getty)
Maduro claimed the US attacked El Aissami because of his “Arab family” and described him as a “brave man”, “a true patriot” and “revolutionary and socialist”.
Maduro defends Tarek El Aissami: “Patriot, revolutionary, socialist, patriot, not socialist. There is no patriotism.” https://t.co/jAmWRLVsQG pic.twitter.com/ogyZ71bgdb
— Monitor Leamos (@monitoreamos) April 9, 2024
Similarly, the late dictator Hugo Chávez defended El Aissami, saying he believed in his “honesty, transparency and revolutionary character.”
Hugo Chavez de Su Proteguido, Tarek El Aissami’s helpless existence.
“Honestly, we need to carry out revolutionary policies,” Chávez said, tightening his control over the political Maduristas. … pic.twitter.com/xr7vqlyKNy
— Castocando.com (@cocando) April 9, 2024
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
