
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
Most loved Caf\u00e9 Chain: Where Do You Get Your Caffeine Fix - 2
'A completely new manufacturing frontier': Space Forge fires up 1st commercial semiconductor factory in space - 3
Pick Your Top Method for starting the Morning - 4
Favored Chinese Dish: Make Your Determination - 5
Charli xcx teases new film ‘The Moment’: What to know about the A24 movie
'People We Meet on Vacation' is the 1st of many Emily Henry adaptations: What other books turned movies to look forward to
The pace of hiring just fell to the lowest since 2011, outside of the pandemic
JFK's granddaughter Tatiana Schlossberg reveals terminal cancer diagnosis
6 Useful Home Espresso Machines
Check out the exclusive pitch deck Valerie Health used to raise $30 million from Redpoint Ventures to automate healthcare faxes
6 Tire Brands Reasonable for Seniors
Flu season is ramping up, and some experts are "pretty worried"
Figure out How to Forestall Tooth Staining
Israeli strikes on Beirut, as Hezbollah and Iran attack Israel













