The arrest of Evanan Romero took place on Friday, February 13, at the local airport in Maracaibo as he was about to board a flight to Caracas to meet with representatives of international oil companies. This incident has stirred controversy amid the restructuring process of Venezuela’s oil industry.
Without knowing the reasons for his detention, he was taken to Interpol and after a night, was moved to a private clinic where he remains under police guard.
Romero, a Venezuelan by birth and a naturalized U.S. citizen, claims he has no legal issues and asserts that his arrest is politically motivated, attributing it to the regime’s prosecutor, Tarek William Saab. Saab is allegedly justifying the action based on an old administrative dispute that had supposedly been resolved by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. Romero suggests a connection between the prosecutor and his accuser.
Currently, he is mediating with Repsol and Reliance to integrate them into the restructuring process of the Venezuelan oil industry, which is being promoted by the U.S. government.
Meanwhile, some voices present him as a highly esteemed oil expert (1), while sources from Venezuela Política assert that the arrest is not political at all but is related to alleged irregular actions and Romero’s handling of relationships with chavismo.
An Old Matter
In light of the uproar claiming that Evanan Romero’s arrest is politically driven, sources from Venezuela Política highlight that the motivation behind the detention traces back to events that occurred in 2011 when he acted as a representative of Corporación Iskratal C.A.
The mentioned company, of which he was the owner and allegedly managed through attorney Manuel Alfredo Rincón, sold 50 percent of its shares to his partner at Global Catering Services de Venezuela C.A., Giuseppe D’Agostino.
D’Agostino made the payment for the shares, but Romero allegedly did not transfer ownership, prompting the aggrieved party to seek judicial recourse, which ruled in his favor.
However, Evanan Romero, a former deputy minister of Energy and Mines and ex-member of PDVSA’s board, reportedly utilized his connections with the chavista regime, particularly his friendship with Calixto Ortega, who, from the Supreme Tribunal, annulled the ruling of the Civil Cassation Chamber.
D’Agostino’s Lawsuit Against Evanan Romero
The reasons for Evanan Romero’s arrest relate to a lawsuit filed by Giuseppe D’Agostino in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Florida, for damages exceeding USD 2,000,000.
This lawsuit was filed in Florida due to the defendant’s residence, as well as the fact that the actions causing the alleged damage took place while he conducted business activities in that jurisdiction, according to Florida Statute.
The plaintiff accuses Romero of breach of contract related to the purchase of shares in a Venezuelan company, claiming to have never received the titles after making the payment. He accuses Evanan Romero of intentional interference and of providing false information in Venezuelan courts to obstruct the transfer of said property.
Additionally, D’Agostino emphasizes that Romero utilized a prior lawsuit in Florida as a misleading pretext to overturn favorable judicial rulings to the plaintiff. With this new action, the declared victim seeks full economic compensation, interest, and a jury trial to resolve the dispute.
Giuseppe D’Agostino focuses his lawsuit on the breach of the delivery of 80,000 shares representing 50% ownership in Global Catering Services de Venezuela C.A., despite having made the full payment as agreed.
To achieve this, the defendant allegedly capitalized on his influence and made false assertions about judicial processes in Miami to interfere in Venezuelan courts to reverse decisions that favored the plaintiff, consequently retaining the shares unlawfully.
The Business Agreement and Breach
It is reported that on August 29, 2011, a contract was executed between the plaintiff and Iskratal Corporation, C.A., represented at that time by the defendant, Evanan Romero, who acted as its president.
ElementDetailObjectPurchase of 80,000 shares (50%) of Global Catering Services de Venezuela, C.A.PriceEight million bolívares (equivalent to USD 2,000,000).Status of PaymentThe plaintiff fulfilled the total payment of the agreed amount.BreachIskratal Corporation did not deliver the shares after receiving the payment.
Intentional Interference and Judicial Manipulation
Giuseppe D´Agostino alleges that Evanan Romero intentionally interfered to prevent Iskratal from fulfilling its contractual obligations.
Romero claimed in Venezuelan courts that the transfer of shares was dependent on the resolution of a case in Miami, asserting it as unresolved, when in actuality, he himself participated in the negotiations of a confidential settlement that led to the dismissal of the case by a Miami-Dade judge on November 3, 2011.
Based on this “false allegation,” the Civil Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela revoked on October 28, 2022, the lower court decisions that had previously ordered the delivery of the shares to the plaintiff.
The legal proceedings in Venezuela traversed multiple instances that initially validated the plaintiff’s right:
February 3, 2015: The Superior Traffic Tribunal of Anzoátegui orders the transfer of shares to D’Agostino.
Iskratal’s Appeal: A Superior Court in civil and commercial matters confirms the prior decision.
November 8, 2017: The Civil Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice ruled that full payment was demonstrated and declared Iskratal’s appeal unfounded.
October 28, 2022: After a new appeal, the same Cassation Chamber overturns previous decisions based on Romero’s claimed unfulfilled suspensive condition.
What the Minutes Say
The minutes from the extraordinary shareholders assembly of “Global Catering Services de Venezuela S.A.” dated January 21, 2011, establish that the main partners, Giuseppe D’ Agostino and Corporación Iskratal, C.A., initially agreed on a capital increase and the issuance of new titles.
The central point of the meeting was the sale of 50% of the shares belonging to Iskratal in favor of D’ Agostino for eight million bolívares.
The minutes detail a structured payment plan and the necessary collateral guarantees to ensure the total transfer of ownership. The recording authorized the legal registration of these decisions with the relevant commercial authorities for official validation.
Moreover, the minutes from the shareholders assembly of “Global Catering Services de Venezuela S.A.” on August 29, 2011, report the evaluation and approval of the financial statements for the year 2010, aiming to manage outstanding profits.
At that time, Giuseppe D’Agostino was reconfirmed as the owner of the total social capital following a transfer of shares from Corporación Iskratal C.A.
A formal request was also made to the Commercial Registry in 2013 to enable a new shareholders book given the inability to locate the original records. This was intended to regularize the legal history of the company’s share movements.
Watch “Partial Fall of the Regime and Realignment of Power: Inevitable Scenarios in Venezuela” on Sin Filtros:
Source consulted:1) Alberto News (February 17, 2026). “ABC from Spain | Venezuela detains a U.S. citizen key to oil stabilization.” https://albertonews.com/principales/abc-de-espana-venezuela-detiene-a-un-ciudadano-de-ee-uu-clave-en-la-estabilizacion-petrolera/