Oct. 22 in Caracas According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Pedro Tellechea, who used to be Oil Minister, has been arrested in Venezuela on charges of “serious crimes” that threaten national interests.

According to an official statement released on Monday, Tellechea was arrested early Sunday morning after a “exhaustive scientific investigation.” This was stated by the Xinhua news agency.

People who used to work for the government are being charged with “delivering the Automated Control and Command System” from Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), the country’s state-owned oil company, to a US company “controlled by the intelligence services.” The automatic system, which is sometimes called PDVSA’s “brain,” is very important to how it works.

Tellechea was also head of PDVSA from 2023 to 2024. In August of this year, he was named minister of industries and national production, but was fired last Friday.