At 84 years old, José Toro Hardy remembers when Venezuela allowed private and foreign investment in the oil sector. He also remembers when Hugo Chávez forced them out.
Federal prosecutors said George Semerene Quintero’s case showed Nicolás Maduro used the Venezuelan oil company to illegally funnel parts to maintain planes used by him and his cronies.
Despite U.S. sanctions, prosecutors say Venezuela’s state-owned oil company accessed aircraft parts from the U.S. such as bearings, joint slide flexes, and actuators for its aircraft fleet.