I try to highlight all the wins we've achieved in Venezuela since the Jan. 3 arrest of Nicolás Maduro because few in the media are doing so, and they're worth highlighting. Donald Trump and Marco Rubio have achieved a lot of great things in the last six weeks.
But it's not all sunshine and roses, and no one ever expected it to be, despite the narrative the MSM pushes. Rubio himself has said that there will be bumps and bruises along the way, and I'd be remiss if I didn't cover those, too.
On Friday, Evanan Romero, an 86-year-old oil expert and naturalized U.S. citizen who is considered a key person in the revitalization of the Venezuelan oil industry, was boarding a plane at the Maracaibo airport, near the Colombian border, when he was detained by Venezuelan authorities. He was headed to Caracas to meet with figures from various major oil companies who are interested in investing in the country's energy sector.
According to the Spanish newspaper ABC, he checked in for his flight, and a detention order appeared in the system. Authorities took him aside without an explanation or announcing any formal charges. They haven't shared any information with his lawyers, either. He was held overnight in an Interpol office but later transferred to a private medical clinic — at his own expense — due to his age and health conditions. It's believed that he's currently being held there with guards in place. His phone has been confiscated, and he has not been allowed to use a computer. However, he did reach out to ABC using a relative's phone.
Romero had been in Venezuela for a few days, traveling from Panama and stopping to visit his brother before heading to the meetings in Caracas. ABC reports that "Although he holds dual Venezuelan and American citizenship, he entered the country with a U.S. passport, despite the fact that those with U.S. citizenship are required to enter and leave the country with their Venezuelan passport. However, he used his Venezuelan ID card for domestic travel. ABC has seen a copy of the U.S. passport he used to enter Venezuela days before his arrest."
Romero claims his detainment is politically motivated and possibly related to an old case "linked to an old administrative dispute related to a family business investment" — a conflict he says was resolved by the Supreme Court years ago and has never prevented him from traveling to and from the United States and Europe before. After an initial court appearance on Saturday that ended with, well, nothing, he'll return to court on Wednesday morning, despite still not knowing why he's even being held in the first place.
Needless to say, he was not able to make the meetings. This comes as Trump is attempting to encourage foreign energy investment in Venezuela, and as you can imagine, it's not a good look to those who are already somewhat hesitant about whether or not they can work with the current regime members still in place and what the country's future holds.
To say Romero is an important part of the stabilization process of the country's oil industry is probably an understatement. His resume includes founding INTEVEP, PDVSA's research and development center, and serving as its executive vice president for years. During the 1990s, pre-Hugo Chávez, he was vice minister of Energy and Mines and a member of the board of directors of the state oil company. He eventually left Venezuela and came to the U.S. to work as an energy company consultant in Houston.
Right now, he's working as an important contact between the Trump Administration and major oil companies. The U.S. government has made no official statements about his arrest.
However, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, arrived in Venezuela earlier today. It's not clear why just yet, but given the role Qatar has played as mediator between the U.S. and Venezuela, it's likely he's there to encourage stabilizing the current political and economic situation. I'll add that I'm personally not a fan of this, as I fear it could potentially dilute U.S. oversight in the future, but we shall see.
In case you missed it, Donald Trump took some questions from reporters on Air Force One on Monday night, and one asked him about the NBC interview from last week, during which "acting president"/Trump pawn Delcy Rodríguez said Maduro is still the president of Venezuela.
Trump dismissed it, claiming, "I think she probably has to say that. I think politically maybe she has to say that, but the relationship with Venezuela… well, she's doing a really good job, and I fully understand."
Reporter: On Venezuela, Rodriguez last week said that Nicolas Maduro is still a legitimate president and is innocent
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 17, 2026
Trump: She probably has to say that. I think politically she has to say that. She’s doing a very good job. pic.twitter.com/udcrU5USPe
As I've been saying, Delcy walks a fine line between doing what Trump and Rubio tell her to do and keeping the rest of the Chavistas happy. So, in the case of this Romero detainment situation, I suspect he's correct, and it is related to some old case, or other factions of the regime, like Diosdado Cabello, are attempting to assert their authority a little bit — authority they don't seem to realize that they no longer have.
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