The Venezuelan authorities have arrested Pedro Tellechea, the Minister of Industry and National Production who, just three days ago, was dismissed from his position, according to official sources. “There are numerous simultaneous plots that we are investigating, many linked to Tellechea: for oil and, the most serious, for the leak of information to the CIA. There are at least half a dozen detainees,” the same sources add.
Instead of Tellechea, the president of Venezuela placed Álex Saaba Colombian businessman who acts, according to the United States, as Nicolás Maduro’s front man. The arrest of Tellechea, a public figure with a medium profile who was considered discreet and loyal to Chavismo, represents the biggest internal blow to Maduro since the presidential elections were held on July 28, in which the international community suspects that the Chavismo committed fraud and claimed a victory that did not belong to him. Maduro has resisted recognizing what seems like a victory for the opposition and, as he himself has announced, he will take office on January 10, when his current term ends and the next begins.
The former minister has been detained “after an exhaustive scientific investigation,” according to the Public Ministry. Tellechea delivered the Automated Command and Control System, “known as the brain of PDVSA (the state oil company),” to a company controlled by the United States intelligence services, according to the account of the events given by the attorney general, Tarek. William Saab. “This violated all legal mechanisms and our national sovereignty,” adds Saab in a statement. He then states that the operation has been carried out with the full cooperation of the head of state, Nicolás Maduro.
The president has undertaken a profound remodeling of his Government and the main powers of the State. “At his side, only the most loyal”summarize several Chavista leaders. Tellechea’s arrest, however, is still surprising. His dismissal, which was sold as a resignation on his part, was strange, since he had only been in office for two months. Previously, he served as Minister of Petroleum and President of Venezuelan oil (PDVSA) between 2023 and 2024, a position of immense power, since crude oil is a key source of financing in the country. Hence, its leaders have often been involved in major cases of corruption.
So, four of its last directors have been accused ―counting Tellechea― of embezzlements that add up to billions. The last person identified was a personal friend of Maduro, Tareck El Aissami, now detained and imprisoned for leading a plot that diverted more than 3 billion dollars. Maduro has referred several times to the “betrayal” of Tareck, who was among the most relevant Chavista leaders of his time. “I opened the doors of my house to him and that’s how he paid for it,” Maduro has repeated in private meetings.
Tellechea, 48 years old and with the rank of colonel in the Bolivarian Armed Forces, was one of the youngest members of the Government. It belonged to the shares of power that the military holds within the Chavista executive. And this is how he said goodbye two days ago: “I want to express my most sincere gratitude for the opportunity they gave me to be part of the Government’s fighting team, which has left me with an enriching and unparalleled experience. However, after careful consideration personally and together with my family group, I have made the difficult decision to resign from my responsibilities within this organization, motivated by health issues that require my immediate attention. I thank you, Mr. President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, and our vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, for the understanding and support provided during this time in office, where I always had your timely guidelines and unrestricted support.”
Tellechea was part of the wave of soldiers who, with the arrival of Nicolás Maduro to power, have colonized the state oil company. Between 2020 and January 2023 he was in the petrochemical industry, until he was appointed president of PDVSA. Before that, he had built a career with few public appearances directing the joint venture Methanol de Oriente and CVG Venalum, the state aluminum producer that under his direction became practically inoperative.
At the helm of PDVSA, he began reporting directly to El Aissami, but he fell two months later, so Tellechea had to assume the dual role of minister and president of PDVSA. He survived the purge after the case PDVSA Cryptofor which more than 70 officials were arrested – including El Aissami himself and several of his collaborators – and, according to the Government, more than 23,000 million dollars were squandered from the sale of Venezuelan crude oil in the opaque black market to which Venezuela appealed amid the sanctions.
During the short time he has been in charge of the oil company, Tellechea assisted in the relief of oil sanctions; signed agreements with foreign companies such as Repsol; and increased production by about 200,000 barrels per day to reach the current 900,000, very far from the goal of 1.7 million that it had promised for the end of this year. In August, in the midst of the rearrangements that Maduro had to make after the presidential elections, he was removed from PDVSA and replaced by Héctor Obregón, from the close circle of the Rodríguez brothers and who was already on the company’s board of directors. Tellechea was assigned to the Ministry of Industries and National Production, from which he was removed on Friday.
