Recently, news regarding oil in Venezuela has focused on the arrest of two Chevron employees. Details about the detainees have been scarce, and their names and nationalities have been misreported. Carlos José Algarra Villegas and René Adrián Vásquez Mora face charges of treason from the chavista regime for refusing to sign a no-bid contract—a standard procurement practice that comes with astronomical profit margins—for PDVSA, Chevron’s joint venture, Petropiar. These two men have no chance of justice for a simple reason: both are Venezuelan citizens.
Venezuelan prisons are filled with individuals who have been detained on fabricated charges. Certainly, fighting corruption is not a strength of Nicolás Maduro. The Venezuelan judiciary lacks any semblance of independence or legitimacy. Due process is nonexistent. The fact that these individuals are Chevron employees makes no difference at all. Within Venezuelan borders, the organized crime syndicate known as chavismo does exactly as it pleases with Venezuelan citizens.