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UPDATE 08/05/2020 - 09:55 GMT | Alex Saab adventures into oil aren't new. There was a time when he had to make use of "decent" intermediaries, like Jean Paul Rivas, in energy trading attempts. No more. U.S. Treasury sanctions have pushed PDVSA into Saab's arms. He is no longer toxic. His characteristic stench goes undetected in the company of Nicolas Maduro, Cilia, and Tareck el Aisami: Venezuela's new oil minister.

A question we get often, from analysts trying to make sense of what's happening with PDVSA's trading, finances, assets, etc., is: what's going on with crude deliveries? Maritime tracking apps / software are, in Venezuela's particular case, not fit for purpose, for these rely on vessels' AIS transponders to broadcast geolocations which are picked by terrestrial or satellite receivers. This information can then be seen on maps easily. But what happens when ships switch transponders off, which has become the new norm in most of the tankers involved with PDVSA?

Trying to stay relevant in politics is quite difficult in the best of times and places. Imagine how it looks for those with such aspirations, when, in the middle of current pandemic, their area of expertise is a banana republic cum failed State submerged in an abyss of corruption, like crisis-ridden Venezuela. Case in point Francisco Rodriguez, who went from an advisory role in Venezuela's Congress, to academia, to earn a living talking up -in stressed bond circles- chavismo's trustworthyness and ability to service its piling debt.

Bloomberg hacks covering Venezuela have just startled their audience with an amazing discovery: "Two Ex-Gazprom Executives Help Venezuela Keep Oil Flowing":

UPDATED - Further to Rosneft's recent "sale" of its Venezuela assets to new Roszarubezhneft venture, we've been trying to pierce the veil of fakenews about the move.

Rafael Ramirez needs no introduction. While most people know him as former CEO of PDVSA, former Energy Minister, former Venezuela Ambassador to the UN, we know him as the architect of the largest corruption scheme the world has ever seen. Under his watch, PDVSA got close to $1.3 trillion USD worth of income, of which little is left.