'''Alí Rodríguez Araque''' (born [[1937]]) is a [[Venezuela|Venezuelan]] politician, diplomat, and [[oil]] adviser to President [[Hugo Chávez]]. During the sixties and early seventies, he was very active in the marxist guerrilla movementoperating that plaguedin Venezuela. He was known as "Commander Fausto" and, allegedly actedacting as an explosiveexplosives expert. He was one of the last guerrilla fighter to put down arms, after the so called "apeasementappeasement" policy (PacificacionPacificación) signaled the end of the armed insurgency. He was pardoned and became involved in formalparliamentary politics, havingand beingwas elected to the then National Congress. He acquired a reputation as a negotiator and consensus seeker. He was minister of energy of Venezuela from [[1999]], when Chávez took office, until [[2000]]. In 2000 he was elected [[Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries|secretary-general]] of [[OPEC]] and served from [[January]] [[2001]] to [[July]] [[2002]]. He then became President of Venezuela's state-owned oil company [[Petroleos de Venezuela]] (PDVSA), where he masterminded the firing of more than twenty thousand workers as a retaliation for a failed strike. He remained in that position until [[November]] [[2004]] when Chávez appointed him [[foreign minister]] in a cabinet reshuffle. [[As of 2005]], Rodríguez is still the foreign minister.
