CARACAS, Venezuela – President Nicolas Maduro has tapped a high-ranking member of Venezuela’s military to lead the country’s struggling state oil company.
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National Guard Major General Manuel Quevedo will be president of PDVSA, replacing Stanford-educated engineer Eulogio Del Pino.
Since taking office in 2013, Maduro has steadily handed more power over to military officials, which includes key cabinet posts.
Sunday’s leadership change comes amid a sweeping anti-corruption probe that Maduro ordered of the state-run firm as crude production has fallen, helping send the oil-rich country into a financial crisis.
This year, Venezuelan officials have arrested roughly 60 people, including many senior managers of the state oil company.
Officials in recent days jailed six top executives of the U.S.-based subsidiary Citgo, five of them holding dual U.S. citizenship.