International News

CARACAS, Sept 15, (APP/AFP) – Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek
William Saab said Thursday he has received death threats over his investigation into alleged corruption.
He told the Constituent Assembly he received an anonymous phone call
while leaving a television program, during which the caller threatened he would end up “bloated like a [dead] cat” if he continued.
On August 31 Saab, who is pro-government, announced he was
investigating the embezzlement of $200 million skimmed from inflated state oil contracts between 2010 and 2016.
He accused his predecessor Luisa Ortega, who fled the country saying
she is being persecuted by President Nicolas Maduro, of failing to investigate the fraud when she was chief prosecutor.
“There has to be justice here, and I ask for your support,” he told
members of the Assembly, which will govern the country with complete power for two years.
Venezuela is home to the world’s largest oil reserves — with 90
percent of that wealth concentrated in the Orinoco Belt, a territory of about 21,000 square miles (55,000 square kilometers).