
Oil tycoon Wilmer Ruperti showed up for a meeting with Venezuela’s intelligence agency last Thursday. A week later, he’s still in custody, one of his lawyers told Semafor.
“We’ve reached out to everybody trying to get proof of life or some support,” Winston & Strawn’s Cari Stinebower said, adding that officials still haven’t conveyed “how he’s being treated or why he’s being detained.”
Ruperti, who arrived at the meeting with a security detail, is a Venezuelan Italian shipping magnate who trades in petroleum coke. His detainment followed interim President Delcy Rodríguez’s decision to elevate the agency’s longtime chief to defense minister.
“The message is that Venezuela is open for business — but detaining businessmen for days on end without any due process or access to counsel is more old regime,” Stinebower said. “This is not law and order and not conducive of a welcoming business environment.”
The State Department and Energy Department did not respond to requests for comment.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Why won't NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts land on the moon when they get there? - 2
NASA Artemis 2 astronauts to make historic moon flyby today. Here's what to expect hour by hour (timeline) - 3
Executed Iranian nuclear scientist confessed to aiding Israel after torture, threats against mother - 4
Astrophotographer captures spectacular photo of Antennae Galaxies dueling in deep space - 5
Coca-Cola Co. and bottlers to invest in South Africa operations
Indonesian Mega-Farm Drives Surge in Deforestation
'It's doing badly': Fears grow for whale stuck off Germany's coast
Astronomers detect black hole blasting winds at incredible speeds
Mystery foot suggests a second early human relative lived alongside Lucy
Flu concerns grow in US as UK sees more cases among kids
The Best 20 Tunes that Characterized an Age
From Overpowered to Coordinated: Individual Accounts of Cleaning up
Andrew McCarthy's awe-inspiring image of a skydiver in front of the sun
5 Movies That Leaving an Imprint with Inventive Innovation













