
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
Minnesota jury says Johnson & Johnson owes $65.5 million to woman with cancer who used talcum powder - 2
Scientists dove hundreds of feet into the ocean and found creatures no human has ever seen. Our trash beat us there - 3
The Oscars are moving from ABC to YouTube starting in 2029 - 4
'Spending more on gas than groceries:' Rising fuel prices drive more San Antonio families to the Food Bank amid Iran war - 5
How we came to be: Scientists get first look at the evolution of early complex animals
Find the Specialty of Calligraphy: Dominating the Exquisite Art of Penmanship
America's Confided in Fridge in 2024
Gen Z workplace stereotypes were TV’s favorite punchline in 2025
Best Internet based Course for Learning Another Dialect: Which Stage Do You Like?
Hand Skin Is Additionally Significant - What You Ought to Realize About Hand Cream
The Main 20 Photography Instagram Records to Follow
Europe's powerful Ariane 6 rocket launches Sentinel-1D Earth-observation satellite to orbit (video)
‘It’s Israeli policy’: Report reveals abuse of Palestinians in prisons
Robert Pattinson claims he's a pathological liar. What 'The Drama' star has said about his 'shtick'











