In the past, Ramírez had also served as the Venezuelan Minister of Energy and Mines for a time.

In like measure, the Venezuelan Minister of Production, Susana Rivero said that Venezuela "is not a substitute" for the United States, but "a new market with new conditions, with many facilities.

The Venezuelan Minister of Interior declared that if there were a crime in cooperation with public functionaries, "the State does not have to assume any responsibility because responsibility is individual".

He serves as the Venezuelan Minister of Defense.

He was then an early supporter of Hugo Chávez' post-1992 political career, and was the Venezuelan Minister of Interior and Justice from 2001 to 2002, when he resigned.

José David Cabello was appointed Venezuelan Minister of Infrastructure in July 2006.

He is also a former Venezuelan Minister of Planning and former Head of the "Presidential Office of Coordination and Planning" (1992-1993).

Mr. Waxman has advised Citibank on a banquet menu for the Venezuelan Minister of Finance (and supplied the reference books to its catering department).

"We are discovering that free trade agreements are not just about free trade," said Moises Naim, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment and former Venezuelan Minister of Industry.

Kansas departed Norfolk on 1 July with the body of the Venezuelan Minister to the United States, arriving La Guaira on 14 July.