
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
Research institutions tout the value of scholarship that crosses disciplines – but academia pushes interdisciplinary researchers out
Israel Police arrest twenty-one as anti-war protests grow despite broad support for Iran war
Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson to reprise their roles for new 'Hunger Games' movie 'Sunrise on the Reaping'
Big majority in Germany call Berlin's efforts on gas prices too weak
He suddenly couldn't speak in space. NASA astronaut says his medical scare remains a mystery
Living Abroad: Social Inundation and Self-improvement
Your guide to how to safely thaw and cook your Thanksgiving turkey this year, according to experts
Step by step instructions to Lessen Your Gamble of Creating Cellular breakdown in the lungs
I visited the largest collection of public telescopes in the US in Oregon's high desert, and the dark skies blew me away











