Tareck El Aissami, accused of drug trafficking in the US, is the new oil minister of Venezuela

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El Aissami responds to accusations of drug trafficking 5:58

(CNN Spanish) - The questioned President Nicolás Maduro appointed Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami, one of the 15 Venezuelan officials accused by the United States Department of Justice of narcoterrorism, money laundering and corruption.

El Aissami is accused of trying to evade the sanctions imposed on Maduro and several of his key officials by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In late March, Washington offered $ 10 million for information leading to his arrest.

In June 2019, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) had confirmed that Venezuela's then vice president of economics was on the most wanted list for the crime of drug trafficking.

Aissami has denied all charges brought against him.

The also former governor of Aragua replaces Manuel Quevedo, who has been leading both the Ministry of Petroleum and Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) since November 2017.

Along with the appointment of El Aissami, Maduro appointed Asdrúbal Chávez, cousin of the late President Hugo Chávez and former president of CITGO, a subsidiary of the Venezuelan oil company in the United States, as PDVSA president.

The Aissami, from a family of Syrian-Lebanese origin, continues to occupy the Vice-presidency of the economic area, the most influential position within the cabinet for decision-making in financial matters.

In February, Maduro had announced a restructuring process of the state oil company after signing an "energy emergency decree", after the sanctions Washington imposed on the
Russian company Rosneft for its commercial relationship with the Venezuelan government.

At that time, Maduro appointed El Aissami to head the commission that would undertake the changes along with Asdrúbal Chávez, in addition to other military officials, among whom the
Defense Minister , General Vladimir Padrino, stood out .

"I am putting all the power of the State, the government and the nation to enter PDVSA with everything," said Maduro at the time.

The Government of Venezuela and the state oil company have been sanctioned by the United States since 2019. Washington demands democratic reforms in the country, after questioning the reelection of Nicolás Maduro in 2018 and recognizing since January 2019 the president of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.

More than 90% of the country's income comes from oil extraction, as reported by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The drop in oil production has seriously affected the finances of the Venezuelan state, as well as low oil prices and economic sanctions by the United States, both against PDVSA and various officials and former officials of the Venezuelan government.

Tareck El Aissami