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Second death of detainee in Venezuela graft probe
Business and Economy

Second death of detainee in Venezuela graft probe

by  AFP 1 min read
Venezuela Attorney General Tarek William Saab said the detainee had been suffering from a 'terminal illness'
Venezuela Attorney General Tarek William Saab said the detainee had been suffering from a 'terminal illness'. Photo: Federico PARRA / AFP
Source: AFP

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A second detainee arrested in a huge anti-corruption investigation in Venezuela has died, the country's attorney general Tarek William Saab said.

Juan Almeida had long been suffering from a "terminal illness diagnosed as hepatic cirrhosis," a type of liver disease, Saab wrote on Twitter late Monday.

Almeida was one of 61 people arrested as part of a probe into the state oil company PDVSA and its US-based subsidiary Citgo, launched in March.

PDVSA directors, top officials and managers responsible for Venezuela's Petro cryptocurrency were amongst those arrested.

After the scandal broke, then-oil minister Tareck El Aissami resigned.

Almeida had been a technological operator working for El Aissami.

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"At the moment of his death he was in his home after being granted the humanitarian measure of house arrest," said Saab.

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Several experts accuse President Nicolas Maduro of using the investigation as an excuse for a "political purge" with elections just a year away.

In April, another detainee committed suicide, according to authorities, but rights groups have demanded an independent investigation into that death.

Source: AFP

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