Ex-Venezuelan Oil Minister Nelson Martinez Dies While in Custody
- Government cites serious chronic disease as cause of death
- Official was also former oil minister, president of PDVSA
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Nelson Martinez, a former Venezuelan oil minister and once head of refiner Citgo Holding Inc., died in state custody while being treated at a health center in Caracas, the government said.
Martinez, who was 68 years old, died because of a “serious chronic disease,” the Venezuelan Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement Wednesday. He had been taken to hospital from a military facility in Caracas several days ago, an official at state-owned oil producer Petroleos de Venezuela SA said.