A businessman accused of siphoning off millions in state contracts from Venezuela has pleaded not guilty in a high profile case that’s strained relations between Washington and Caracas.

Six American oil executives jailed in Venezuela more than three years ago on corruption charges have been granted house arrest in a gesture of goodwill toward the Biden administration as it reviews its policy toward the politically turbulent South American country.

did not seek confirmation or clarificationwhen the DEA informants dropped their various oblique hints, according to the petition, which was prepared by New York-based attorneys with the firm Sidley. Campo and Flores were arrested in Haiti in a DEA sting in 2015 and immediately removed to New York to face trial. Lawyers for Campo and Flores argued at their two-week trial that no drugs traded hands and the men never intended to deliver any. But in the lower court trial, his legal bill was flipped by Wilmer Ruperti, a Venezuelan shipping magnate close to Maduro's government. The two have made almost no mention of their loved ones' conviction in the U.S.Follow Goodman on Twitter: @APJoshGoodman

MIAMI As U.S. sanctions scare away the world's largest shippers from Venezuela's oil industry, new players are willing to brave the heightened risks and help keep socialist leader Nicols Maduro afloat, according to a new report. Collectively, those ships accounted for 33% of all maritime traffic since the U.S. banned Americans from doing business with Venezuela's oil sector on Jan. 28, 2019. As the Trump administration has sought to deprive Maduro of easy cash from Venezuelas vast oil reserves, it has sanctioned more than 50 vessels found to have violated sanctions. The 103 tankers visiting Venezuela for the first time appear to be owned by just 41 companies, according to the report. Three companies with the largest fleets belong to TMS Tankers Limited, Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Limited and Delta Tankers Limited, C4ADS and IBI said.