New Citgo President Chavez arrives in Houston

Houston-based Citgo Petroleum said its new president, Asdrúbal Chávez, has arrived in the city's headquarters amid ongoing controversies regarding the arrests of the company's previous leadership team in Venezuela late last year.

Chávez, a cousin of the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. was installed as the new president at the end of November by current Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Citgo is a subsidiary of the state oil company in Venezuela, which is mired in economic and political turmoil.

Citgo said Chávez, a chemical engineer, attended his first corporate meeting Thursday in Houston. He plans to unveil his vision for the future of the company over the coming months, Citgo said. Chávez is a politician and former Venezuelan oil minister.

Citgo declined interview requests.

Earlier in November, the Venezuelan government swept up much of the previous Citgo leadership team, most of whom are dual American citizens living in the Houston area, on embezzlement and corruption charges. The moves are widely seen as an effort by Maduro to further consolidate power. Those arrested remain in custody.

Argus Media reported this week that Citgo is considering moving its headquarters from Houston to Aruba, where Citgo also has a refinery. Citgo declined comment on the report. However, Maduro last week temporarily cut of ties with Aruba and some other neighboring Caribbean nations because of concerns about smugglers.

Citgo is a U.S. company with a more than 100-year history that was acquired by Venezuela's state-run oil company nearly 30 years ago. Citgo now acts as the U.S. refining and gasoline marketing arm of Venezuela.

Citgo employs about 4,000 people in the U.S., including more than 800 in Houston. The company has roughly 160 branded gas stations in the Houston area, and about 5,500 nationwide. Citgo owns oil refineries in Corpus Christi, Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Illinois.