Top executives of Citgo detained in Venezuela corruption probe
NicolÃ¡s Maduro
The arrests here of six top executives of Citgo  the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil giant  amount to a dramatic shake-up in the leadership of the oil interests that have been keeping  embattled President NicolÃ¡s Maduro  in power. The move suggests  observers say  a possible attempt by the government to ensure the loyalty of Citgo's management.
On Wednesday   Maduro  named AsdrÃºbal ChÃ¡vez  a cousin of late president Hugo ChÃ¡vez  the new president of Citgo in an event broadcast on state television. ChÃ¡vez  a former minister of oil and mining and now a member of parliament  will be heading to the United States to "reconstruct" Citgo in the coming days.
Observers said  however  that the arrests of such high-level officials could be linked to a tug of war for loyalties in the upper ranks of Venezuela's government.  Maduro  was the handpicked successor of ChÃ¡vez  the leftist firebrand who died in 2013. But especially in recent months  high-profile ChÃ¡vez followers - known as Chavistas - have broken with  Maduro .
The men arrested  analysts say  appeared to be loyal to Rafael Ramirez  a former president of PDVSA and longtime ChÃ¡vez ally who is Venezuela's representative at the United Nations. Ramirez is seen as subscribing to a more moderate brand of ChÃ¡vez's leftist-nationalist ideology  known as Chavismo. On Sunday  Ramirez published an article on the left-leaning website Aporrea in which he appeared to criticize  Maduro 's handling of the economy.
At least five of the detained executives are American citizens  according to an official familiar with the situation who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. In televised comments   Maduro  said one of the men had claimed  he  could not be arrested because  he  was a naturalized U.S. citizen  though born in Venezuela.  He  described their acts as "treason."
"When the intelligence police  with orders from the chief prosecutor  arrived to arrest the directors for corruption  one of them  born in the state of Falcon  said he couldn't be detained because he's an American citizen "  Maduro  said. "Can you imagine how far this treason goes?"
The arrests here of six top executives of Citgo  the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil giant  amount to a dramatic shake-up in the leadership of the oil interests that have been keeping  embattled President  [TGT]   in power. The move suggests  observers say  a possible attempt by the government to ensure the loyalty of Citgo's management.
On Wednesday   Maduro  named AsdrÃºbal ChÃ¡vez  a cousin of late president Hugo ChÃ¡vez  the new president of Citgo in an event broadcast on state television. ChÃ¡vez  a former minister of oil and mining and now a member of parliament  will be heading to the United States to "reconstruct" Citgo in the coming days.
Observers said  however  that the arrests of such high-level officials could be linked to a tug of war for loyalties in the upper ranks of Venezuela's government.  Maduro  was the handpicked successor of ChÃ¡vez  the leftist firebrand who died in 2013. But especially in recent months  high-profile ChÃ¡vez followers - known as Chavistas - have broken with  Maduro .
The men arrested  analysts say  appeared to be loyal to Rafael Ramirez  a former president of PDVSA and longtime ChÃ¡vez ally who is Venezuela's representative at the United Nations. Ramirez is seen as subscribing to a more moderate brand of ChÃ¡vez's leftist-nationalist ideology  known as Chavismo. On Sunday  Ramirez published an article on the left-leaning website Aporrea in which he appeared to criticize  Maduro 's handling of the economy.
At least five of the detained executives are American citizens  according to an official familiar with the situation who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. In televised comments   Maduro  said one of the men had claimed  he  could not be arrested because  he  was a naturalized U.S. citizen  though born in Venezuela.  He  described their acts as "treason."
"When the intelligence police  with orders from the chief prosecutor  arrived to arrest the directors for corruption  one of them  born in the state of Falcon  said he couldn't be detained because he's an American citizen "  Maduro  said. "Can you imagine how far this treason goes?"