Nicolás Maduro appoints new oil minister

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro appointed his economy vice president as interim oil minister and replaced the head of the state oil company PDVSA.

Tareck El Aissami will be the new minister, while Asdrubal Chavez, cousin of the late President Hugo Chavez, as interim president of PDVSA, according to the appointments published in the government’s official gazette.

Both of the replace Manuel Quevedo, a national guard general who was designated PDVSA president and oil minister in 2017.

El Aissami has been charged by the US Justice Department with narco-terrorism, corruption and drug trafficking. El Aissami’s indictment said he violated US sanctions and received payments for facilitating drug shipments.

The new oil minister has been designated amid acute fuel shortages across the country.

Venezuela's oil output dropped in March to 670,000 barrels per day, its lowest level in five months, due to the US sanctions and the plunge in global oil demand.