CARACAS/HOUSTON: Venezuelan authorities said on Thursday they were seeking an Interpol red alert for ex-oil czar Rafael Ramirez on corruption charges, heightening tensions between the former political heavyweight and the country?s socialist government.
Ramirez, who headed the powerful oil ministry and state energy firm PDVSA for a decade, is a longtime rival of President Nicolas Maduro who has become more critical of his handling of the economy, now in its fourth year of recession.
State prosecutor Tarek Saab said in a press conference that Venezuela was seeking the arrest of Ramirez for corruption tied to the period when he was commanding the world´s largest crude reserves.?No crying, citizen Ramirez. You have been pointed out by all, including by national public opinion, as one of the main embezzlers and culprits of the breakdown of PDVSA,? Saab said.Ramirez?s whereabouts have been unknown since he fled the United States in December, a month after he was ordered to resign as Venezuela?s ambassador to the United Nations over an article he wrote that was seen as an attack on Maduro?s government. Ramirez denied the corruption allegations. ?I´m going to keep saying what I think. They?re going to burn me like in the Inquisition. But I?m going to continue,? Ramirez told Reuters.
01-27-2018, 11:10 AM
Venezuela seeks Interpol red alert for ex-oil czar Ramirez
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