Colonel Marino José Lugo Aguilar, a trusted soldier of Hugo Chavez and former super minister Tareck El Aissami, died by "hanging." The colonel would be charged with the crimes of "appropriation or distraction of public assets; conspiracy to enter into contracts; evasion of procedures, controls, or restrictions in bidding; money laundering, treason, and association," the Prosecutor's Office said. His death would have occurred a few hours after being interrogated by the Military Counterintelligence Directorate (DGCIM), local press said.
The prosecution did not detail where and under what conditions they found his body or how the hanging occurred, that is, whether it was self-inflicted when the autopsy was performed.Nearly 60 people have been arrested since March 2023 for embezzlement in the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA-Cryptocurrencies). There are another 25 opened since 2017 for corruption in the State oil company. There are 17 other arrest warrants issued.