A Turkish citizen has been arrested in the United States on charges of violating sanctions against Venezuela’s oil sector, the US Department of Justice announced today.
The 37-year-old Taskin Torlak was arrested on Saturday in Miami (southeast) as he was preparing to return to Turkey, according to information from the Department of Justice and the prosecutor’s office in the federal capital, Washington.
He is being prosecuted for allegedly attempting, between November and June 2023, to sell oil originating from Venezuela on behalf of the state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA), which has been subject to US sanctions since 2019. The sanctions against Venezuela’s state oil company aim “to prevent the regime (of President Nicolás Maduro) from further depleting national resources while maintaining illegal control over power,” stated prosecutor Matthew Graves.
“The Department of Justice will continue to hold accountable those involved in illegal attempts to circumvent sanctions imposed on the Maduro regime,” emphasised Matthew Olsen, Deputy Attorney General for National Security.
According to the indictment, Taskin Torlak and his alleged accomplices, who have not yet been named, received tens of millions of dollars from PdVSA to arrange the transport of oil shipments from Venezuela, disguising their origin.
In April, the US government reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, emphasising that the Maduro government continues its policy of repressing the opposition.
Washington had relaxed sanctions in October 2023 following an agreement between representatives of President Maduro and the opposition to hold “free and fair” elections in the first half of the year.
Source: ANA-MPA-AFP [translated]
