PDVSA & ENERGY Profile updated May 2026

Manuel Quevedo

Former PDVSA President and Oil Minister

Nationality: Venezuelan Cohorts: PDVSA & energy, Military & security

At a glance

Manuel Quevedo is a retired Venezuelan National Guard general who served as President of PDVSA and Oil Minister from 2017 to 2020, during a steep collapse in oil output.

Who is Manuel Quevedo?

Manuel Salvador Quevedo Fernández is a retired Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) major general who was appointed President of PDVSA and Minister of Petroleum by Nicolás Maduro in November 2017 — the first time PDVSA was led by an active military officer with no oil-industry background. During his tenure, Venezuelan oil output fell from approximately 1.9 million barrels per day to under 700,000 bpd, the steepest non-conflict-driven production collapse in modern oil history.

Quevedo was removed from both roles in April 2020. His appointment is widely cited as the inflection point at which PDVSA's operational capacity broke down, and his replacement by Tareck El Aissami marked the start of the OFAC-license-driven rebuild attempts.

Also known as: Manuel Salvador Quevedo Fernández.

Career timeline

  • 2017–2020 — President of PDVSA and Minister of Petroleum
  • 2017–2020 — Venezuelan oil output collapsed from ~1.9M bpd to <700k bpd
  • 2020 — Removed and replaced by Tareck El Aissami

Network & connections

The following figures are part of Manuel Quevedo's direct political, cabinet, or institutional network — useful for compliance teams mapping the wider Venezuelan power structure:

Frequently asked questions

Who is Manuel Quevedo?
Manuel Quevedo is a retired Venezuelan National Guard general who served as President of PDVSA and Minister of Petroleum from 2017 to 2020. His tenure coincided with the steepest collapse in Venezuelan oil output in modern history.

Sources & further reading

Useful tools and explainers

Other pdvsa & energy

4 more in this cohort

PDVSA leadership, oil ministry, and the people running Venezuela's energy sector.