
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
Signature Scents: A Manual for Outstanding Fragrances - 2
As reefs vanish, assisted coral fertilization offers hope in the Dominican Republic - 3
Best Getaway destination: Ocean side, Mountain, or City - 4
China Just Got A Lot Closer To Its First-Ever Manned Moon Landing - 5
Web designers for Independent ventures
Shas threatens to oppose 2026 state budget over haredi food-voucher exclusion
PA accuses Israel of 'human trafficking' after planeload of Gazans arrives in South Africa
Former ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Pro Survives Plane Crash at LaGuardia That Left 2 Pilots Dead
German Court Rejects Bid To Force BMW and Mercedes-Benz To Stop Selling New Combustion-Engine Cars After 2030
New studies of old dogs help scientists understand where they came from
Spain and Catholic Church agree to compensate sex abuse victims
Amid Iran war, 53 of Israel's future scientists showcase projects in Jerusalem contest
Famous Kitchen Finishing Styles For 2024
Artemis II's moonbound toilet is working again to astronauts' relief after overnight fix












