Corruption in Venezuela

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Political corruption
Forms and concepts
Anti-corruption
Corruption by country
Africa
Asia
Europe
North America
Central America
South America
Oceania
The Corrupt Venezuelan Regime, according to the United States Department of Justice

Corruption in Venezuela permeates all aspects of politics, business, law enforcement, and other sectors.[1] The discovery of oil in Venezuela in the early 20th century worsened political corruption.[2] Under the Chávez and Maduro regimes, corruption reached unprecedented levels, considered among the worst globally. The high levels of corruption and mismanagement in the country have resulted in severe economic difficulties, playing a major role in the crisis in Venezuela.[3] A 2014 Gallup poll found that 75% of Venezuelans believed that corruption was widespread throughout the Venezuelan government.[4] Discontent with corruption was cited by demonstrators as one of the reasons for the 2014 and 2017 Venezuelan protests.[5]

According to Transparency International's 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, Venezuela scored 10 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"). When ranked by score, Venezuela ranked 178th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector.[6] For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the average score was 43, and the worst score was 8 (ranked 180).[7] For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among the countries of the Americas[Note 1] was 75, the average score was 42 and the lowest score was Venezuela's, 10.[8]

In 2023, Transparencia Venezuela announced that the amount of money in judicial cases of 26 different countries investigating government corruption amounted to at least $70 billion dollars.[9]

History

The history of Venezuela has been mired with "persistent and intense presence of corruption", according to the

NGO, claimed that around $100 billion from oil revenue had been misused in the preceding 25 years, according to the Cato Institute.[10]

Simón Bolívar (1813–1830)

During the Venezuelan War of Independence in 1813, Simón Bolívar made a decree that any corruption was punishable by death, according to the Cato Institute.[10] Authors Beddow and Thibodeaux stated that Karl Marx called Bolívar a "[f]alsifier, deserter, conspirator, liar, coward, and looter".[12] Marx dismissed Bolívar as a "false liberator who merely sought to preserve the power of the old Creole nobility which he belonged".[12] According to Marx, after Bolívar arrived in Caracas in 1813, Bolívar's "dictatorship soon proved a military anarchy, leaving the most important affairs in the hands of favorites, who squandered the finances of the country, and then resorted to odious means in order to restore them".

junta of the most influential inhabitants of Caracas" gathered under Bolívar, legally naming him dictator.[13] Three years later, Bolívar, who had a troubled relationship with General Manuel Piar, allegedly created a plan to get rid of Piar that involved false accusations of Piar "having conspired against the whites, plotted against Bolivar's life, and aspired to the supreme power" which ultimately resulted in Piar's execution on 16 October 1817.[13]

During his presidency in the 1820s, Bolívar made two decrees stating corruption was "the violation of the public interest" and reinforced his edict by saying such actions were punishable by death, according to the Cato Institute.

plunder cities, with ornaments from churches being stolen to finance his military forces.[14] In 1826, the Congress of Gran Colombia, which was subservient to Bolívar and had been suffering from financial issues, awarded Bolívar over 1 million pesos while other officials resorted to appropriating and expropriating from the public.[14] Marx stated that Bolívar's instigation of multiple armed situations in order to maintain power and his desire for "the erection of the whole of South America into one federative republic, with himself as its dictator" eventually led to his downfall.[13]

Antonio Guzmán Blanco and Joaquín Crespo (1870–1899)

Paris, France
. He is in the foreground, third from the left.

Simon Bolivar to be exhumed and reburied in the National Pantheon of Venezuela to create an illusion of supporting Bolivar's ideals, despite the two men's drastically opposing views.[19]

In 1884, Guzmán appointed Joaquín Crespo to be his successor and to serve under him. Crespo was renowned for establishing the "ring of iron" by making connections with officials before the end of his first term in 1886. He placed his allies in congressional seats to help guarantee his reelection which angered Guzmán. A power struggle then ensued between the two, leaving Venezuelan politics weakened in its wake. After a rebellion was initiated against Crespo by José Manuel Hernández in March 1898, Crespo led troops to quell the rebels, but was killed by a stray bullet.[16]

Near the end of his life, Guzmán attempted to rule Venezuela from Europe until his death in Paris on 28 July 1899, leaving a political vacuum behind due to the loss of the two leaders a little over one year.[16]

Cipriano Castro (1899–1908)

Cipriano Castro served as governor of Táchira until he was overthrown and exiled to Colombia in 1892. He then amassed considerable wealth through illegal cattle trading and hired a private army with which he intended to march on Caracas. After a successful coup in 1899, his dictatorship was one of the most corrupt periods in Venezuela's history. Once in charge, Castro began plundering the treasury and modifying the constitution to convenience his administration. He had political opponents murdered or exiled, lived extravagantly and broke down diplomacy with foreign countries. He provoked numerous foreign actions, including blockades and bombardments by British, German, and Italian naval vessels seeking to enforce the claims of their citizens against Castro's government.[20] United States Secretary of State Elihu Root called Castro a "crazy brute", while historian Edwin Lieuwen labelled him "probably the worst of Venezuela's many dictators".[21]

Juan Vicente Gómez (1908–1935)

From 1908 to 1935, the dictator

Juan Vincente Gomez held power, with his acts of corruption only committed with "immediate collaborators", according to the Cato Institute.[10]
By the time he died, he was by far the richest man in the country. He did little for public education and held basic democratic principles in disdain. His allegedly ruthless crushing of opponents through his secret police earned him the reputation of a tyrant. He was also accused by opponents of trying to turn the country into a personal fiefdom.

Marcos Pérez Jiménez (1952–1958)

A house of Marcos Pérez Jiménez that featured fountains, a pool, an elevator, an observatory and tunnels.

Marcos Pérez Jiménez seized power through a coup in 1952 and declared himself provisional president until being formally elected in 1953. The government's National Security (Seguridad Nacional, secret police) was extremely repressive against critics of the regime and ruthlessly hunted down and imprisoned those who opposed the dictatorship. In 1957 during the time of reelection, voters had only the choice between voting "yes" or "no" to another term for Jiménez. Pérez Jiménez won by a large margin, though by numerous accounts the count was blatantly rigged.

On 23 January 1958, a coup d'état was performed against Pérez Jiménez. Pérez Jiménez, fleeing from Miraflores Palace, went to La Carlota Airport to seek exile in the Dominican Republic. While rushing out of Venezuela, Pérez Jiménez left $2 million in a suitcase on the runway of La Carlota Airport.[22]

Democracy (1958–1999)

During the first administration of Carlos Andrés Pérez from 1974 to 1979, the 1973 oil crisis caused petroleum profits to be at record highs. His government substantially increased debt, nationalized the oil industry into PDVSA, as well as the iron industry, created new state-owned companies, nationalized the central bank and replaced its board with cabinet members, eliminating the bank's independence as a result.[23] The result of these policies was a system of patrimonialism and increased government corruption.[23] In 1980, the Venezuelan Congress found Carlos Andrés politically responsible for the overprice in the purchase of the ship Sierra Nevada, but acquitted him of administrative and moral responsibility.[24]

During the presidency of Jaime Lusinchi, US$36 billion was misused by the foreign exchange program RECADI, according to the Cato Institute.[10] Arrest warrants were issued against five businessmen for false imports into Venezuela as part of the exchange program,[25] of which Chinese businessman Ho Fuk Wing was imprisoned for three years before being sentenced and detained for an additional four months.[26]

On 20 March 1993, Attorney General Ramón Escovar Salom [es] introduced an action against President Pérez for the embezzlement of 250 million bolivars belonging to a presidential discretionary fund, or partida secreta. The issue had originally been brought to public scrutiny in November 1992 by journalist José Vicente Rangel. Pérez and his supporters claim the money was used to support the electoral process in Nicaragua. On 20 May 1993, the Supreme Court considered the accusation valid, and the following day the Senate voted to strip Pérez of his immunity. Pérez refused to resign, but after the maximum 90 days of temporary leave available to the President under Article 188 of the 1961 constitution, the National Congress removed Pérez from office permanently on 31 August.[27]

Bolivarian Revolution

Hugo Chávez wearing standard military fatigues in 2010.

The government in place following the Bolivarian Revolution that was initiated by Hugo Chávez has been frequently accused of corruption, abuse of the economy for personal gain, spreading "Bolivarian propaganda", buying the loyalty of the military, officials involved in the drug trade, assisting terrorists, intimidation of the media, and human rights abuses of its citizens.[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] According to Foreign Policy, Venezuela's corruption helped Hugo Chávez gain power and worsened under the Bolivarian government.[37] Though the Bolivarian government states that they have implemented strict guidelines and laws to deter corruption, enforcement of such anti-corruption laws has been weak following the centralizing powers in the government, creating less accountability for corruption and making it prevalent throughout Venezuela.[1]

Corruption score according to the Corruption Perceptions Index.
Source: Transparency International Archived 9 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine

Chávez's successor, Nicolás Maduro was criticized for allowing corruption to remain in the government. In an article by The Washington Post, Venezuela's dire situation under Maduro was described as "a man-made disaster". The Bolivarian government was also seen as "a gangster state that doesn't know how to do anything other than sell drugs and steal money for itself" since Maduro's family members and close government officials were accused of being involved in the illicit drug trade.[38]

The Corruption Perceptions Index, produced annually by the NGO Transparency International (TNI) ranked Venezuela among the most corrupt countries in the world[39] A 2013 survey by TNI found that 68% of those believed that the government's efforts to fight corruption were ineffective; a majority of those surveyed said the government's effort against corruption were ineffective, that corruption had increased from 2007 to 2010, and perceived political parties, the judiciary, the parliament and the police to be the institutions most affected by corruption.[40] In 2014, the World Justice Project ranked Venezuela's government in 99th place worldwide and gave it the worst ranking of countries in Latin America according to the Rule of Law Index 2014[35] and in 2015, the World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index 2015 report placed Venezuela as having the worst rule of law in the world, with the majority of Venezuelans believing that the Venezuelan government was not held accountable under the law, was corrupt, lacked transparency and did not respect the privacy of citizens.[41]

Hugo Chávez (1999–2013)

In December 1998,

National Electoral Council of Venezuela was under the control of Chávez where he tried to "push a constitutional reform that would have allowed him unlimited opportunities for reelection".[42] Some criticisms of corruption came from Chávez's own supporters, with Chávez's initial political party, the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR), being criticized as being riddled with the same cronyism, political patronage, and corruption that Chávez alleged were characteristic of the old "Fourth Republic" political parties.[43][44]

Public funds

In early 2000, Chávez's friend and co-conspirator in the

DISIP. Urdaneta began receiving reports that Chávez's allies, Luis Miquilena, leader of the National Assembly and José Vicente Rangel, Chávez's foreign minister, were keeping public funds for themselves. Urdaneta brought this to Chávez's attention, but Chávez ignored his advice saying that he needed the political experience of both men in order to establish power.[45]

$22.5 billion of public funds have been transferred from Venezuela to foreign accounts with half of that money being unaccounted for by anyone, according to the Cato Institute.[42] José Guerra, a former Central Bank executive, claims that most of that money has been used to buy political allies in countries such as Cuba and Bolivia, according to the Cato Institute.[42] Chávez reportedly made promises and carried out most payments of nearly US$70 billion to foreign leaders without consultation with the people of Venezuela and without normal legal procedures, according to the Cato Institute.[42]

Maletinazo scandal

Main article: Suitcase scandal

In August 2007,

Cristina Kirchner and Chávez at the Casa Rosada. He was later arrested on money laundering and contraband charges. It was alleged that the cash was to have been delivered to the Kirchner's as a clandestine contribution to Cristina's campaign chest from President Chávez. Fernández, as a fellow leftist, was a political ally of Chávez. This was seen as a similar move that Chávez allegedly used to give payments to leftist candidates in presidential races for Bolivia and Mexico in order to back his anti-US allies.[46] The incident led to a scandal, which Bloomberg News called "an international imbroglio," with the U.S. accusing five men of being secret Chávez agents whose mission was to cover up the attempt to deliver the cash.[47][48]

According to the United States Department of Defense's PRISM journal, the $800,000 in cash may have also been a payment from Iran to Cristina Kirchner. It was alleged that Chávez helped a deal for Iran to obtain nuclear technology from Argentina and to cover up the AMIA bombing information, with Venezuela also purchasing Argentine debt in the dealing. Iranian and Argentine relations improved shortly after the incident.[49]

PDVAL affair

Main article: PDVAL affair

In mid-2010,

National Assembly were unknown.[54] The most accepted explanation for the loss of food supplies is the organization of PDVAL, because the food network allegedly imported supplies faster than what it could distribute them. The opposition considers the affair as a corrupt case and spokespeople have assured that the public officials deliberately imported more food that could be distributed to embezzle funds through the import of subsidized supplies.[55]

Nicolás Maduro (2013–present)

Diosdado Cabello beside Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

"It's been a big year for Maduro ... I think this year has been the tipping point and his negligence, incompetence and corruption are the cause. When a country's leader can watch his people starve and still oversee a government stealing $70 billion a year all while his family deals drugs, it's a special kind of evil. He deserves this prize.

Drew Sullivan, co-founder of OCCRP[56]

Allegations have been made that President Nicolás Maduro had cooperated with the Islamist militant group, Hezbollah as well as the Syrian government to receive funds.[57][58][59][60]

In 2016, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an international non-governmental organization that investigates crime and corruption, gave President Maduro the Person of the Year Award that "recognizes the individual who has done the most in the world to advance organized criminal activity and corruption". The OCCRP stated that they "chose Maduro for the global award on the strength of his corrupt and oppressive reign, so rife with mismanagement that citizens of his oil-rich nation are literally starving and begging for medicines" and that Maduro and his family steal millions of dollars from government coffers to fund patronage that maintains President Maduro's power in Venezuela. The group also explains how Maduro had overruled the legislative branch filled with opposition politicians, repressed citizen protests and had relatives involved in drug trafficking.[56]

In early 2019, Bulgarian officials disclosed that millions of Euros were transferred from a Venezuelan oil company to a small Bulgarian bank, Investbank, after disclosing an investigation into suspected money laundering. The Bulgarian government had frozen accounts at the bank, and was looking into accounts at other institutions. The Bulgarian government has frozen accounts at the bank. US Ambassador to Bulgaria Eric Rubin confirmed that the US government "[was] working very closely with Bulgaria and other members of the European Union to ensure that the wealth of the people of Venezuela [was] not stolen".[61] Bulgarian authorities reacted only after they were prompted by the US government.[62] According to legal scholar Radosveta Vassileva, "multiple questions arise about the efficiency of Bulgarian secret services and the anti-money laundering protocols in the Investbank."[63] Investbank was one of six Bulgarian banks, that the European Central Bank assessed to evaluate if Bulgaria was making progress towards joining the Eurozone.[64]

In 2023, Transparencia Venezuela announced that the amount of money in judicial cases of 26 different countries investigating chavismo corruption amounted to at least $70 billion dollars.[9]

Drug trade

See also: Government involvement in drug trade

Two nephews of Maduro's wife Cilia Flores, Efraín Antonio Campos Flores and Francisco Flores de Freites have been involved in illicit activities such as drug trafficking, with some of their funds allegedly assisting President Maduro's presidential campaign in the 2013 Venezuelan presidential election potentially for the 2015 Venezuelan parliamentary elections.[65][66] One informant stated that the two would often fly out of Terminal 4 of Simon Bolivar Airport, a terminal reserved for the president.[65][66]

Diosdado Cabello

Information presented to the United States State Department by Stratfor claimed that Diosdado Cabello was "head of one of the major centers of corruption in Venezuela."[67] A Wikileaked U.S. Embassy cable from 2009 characterized Cabello as a "major pole" of corruption within the regime, describing him as "amassing great power and control over the regime's apparatus as well as a private fortune, often through intimidation behind the scenes." The communiqué likewise created speculation that "Chavez himself might be concerned about Cabello's growing influence but unable to diminish it."[68]

He is described by a contributor to The Atlantic as the "Frank Underwood" of Venezuela under whose watch the National Assembly of Venezuela has made a habit of ignoring constitutional hurdles entirely—at various times preventing opposition members from speaking in session, suspending their salaries, stripping particularly problematic legislators of parliamentary immunity, and, on one occasion, even presiding over the physical beating of unfriendly lawmakers while the assembly was meeting.[68][69][70] There are currently at least 17 formal corruption allegations lodged against Cabello in Venezuela's prosecutor's office.[71] His figurehead Rafael Sarría, was investigated and deported from the US in 2010.

Drug trade

See also: Government involvement in drug trade

Cabello has been accused of being involved in the illegal drug trade in Venezuela and was accused of being a leader of the Cartel of the Suns.[72] On 18 May 2015, The Wall Street Journal reported from sources in the United States Department of Justice that there was "extensive evidence to justify that Cabello is one of the heads, if not the head, of the cartel" and that he is "certainly is a main target" of investigations being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration involving drug trafficking in Venezuela.[73]

Derwick Associates bribes

In 2014, Cabello was charged by a court in

Miami, Florida of accepting bribes from Derwick Associates including a $50 million payment. These bribes were reportedly made so Derwick Associates could get public contracts from the Venezuelan government.[67] Derwick Associates denied the charges stating that the allegations against themselves and Cabello are untrue and that they had no financial relationship with Cabello.[74] Banesco also denied the allegations, calling them a lie.[75]

Colectivos organization

Cabello, along with

Petróleos de Venezuela.[76]

Ramón Rodríguez Chacín

Ramón Rodríguez Chacín took part in the 1992 Coup d'état attempts and later became involved in Venezuelan politics under the government of Hugo Chávez.

Bernardo Alvarez stated, "We don't recognized [sic] the validity of any of these documents... They are false, and an attempt to discredit the Venezuelan government."[81][82]

Drug trafficking

Further information: Illegal drug trade in Venezuela and Cartel of the Suns

Never has a country that should have been so rich been so poor ... It's a gangster state that doesn't know how to do anything other than sell drugs and steal money for itself ... Venezuela is the answer to what would happen if an economically illiterate drug cartel took over a country. This corruption hasn't just enriched the few. It has also impoverished the many.

Matt O'Brien of The Washington Post, 2016[38]

According to

Tarek El Aissami.[65]

In May 2015,

Mexican drug cartels.[85]

Hugo Chávez government

In the early-2000s, Hugo Chávez's relationship with FARC caused uneasiness among the military in Venezuela.

Bolivarian Intelligence Service.[88] The meeting between Carvajal and Briceño Suárez involved talks about logistical and political support while also creating plans to meet with Chávez.[88] Chávez's former bodyguard Leamsy Salazar stated in Bumerán Chávez that Chávez met with the high command of FARC in 2007 somewhere in rural Venezuela.[57] Chávez created a system in which the FARC would provide the Venezuelan government with drugs that would be transported in live cattle across the Venezuelan-Colombian border while the FARC would receive money and weaponry from the Venezuelan government after receiving the drugs. According to Salazar, this was done in order to weaken Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, an enemy of Chávez.[57]

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Treasury accused two senior Venezuelan government officials Hugo Carvajal and

FARC guerillas' drug trafficking.[90]

In a 2011 article by The New York Times, Colonel Adel Mashmoushi, Lebanon's drug enforcement chief, stated that flights between Venezuela and Syria that were operated by Iran could have been used by Hezbollah to transport drugs into the Middle East.[91] According to long-time serving New York district attorney Robert Morgenthau, high-ranking Venezuelan officials turned Venezuela to "a global cocaine hub" and his office had found that cocaine in New York was linked to Venezuela, Iran and Hezbollah.[92] Morgenthau also explained how Hugo Chávez's government allegedly assisted Iran with drug trafficking so Iran could circumvent sanctions and fund their development of nuclear weapons and other armaments.[92]

In March 2012, Venezuela's National Assembly removed Supreme Court Justice Eladio Aponte Aponte from his post after an investigation revealed alleged ties to drug trafficking. On the day he was to face questioning, Aponte Aponte fled the country, and has sought refuge in the U.S., where he began to cooperate with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Justice. Aponte says that, while serving as a judge, he was forced to acquit an army commander who had connections with a 2 metric-ton shipment of cocaine. Aponte also claimed that Henry Rangel, former defense minister of Venezuela, and General Clíver Alcalá Cordones were involved in the drug trade.[30]

Nicolás Maduro government

In September 2013, an incident involving men from the

Venezuelan National Guard placing 31 suitcases containing 1.3 tons of cocaine on a Paris flight astonished French authorities.[85] Months later on 15 February 2014, a commander for the Guard was stopped while driving to Valencia with his family and was arrested for having 554 kilos of cocaine in his possession.[93]

On 22 July 2014,

persona non-grata.[99][100][101]

In January 2015, the former security chief of both Hugo Chavez and Diosdado Cabello, Leamsy Salazar, made accusations that Cabello was involved in the drug trade.[72][102] Salazar was placed in witness protection, fleeing to the United States with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Special Operations Division after cooperating with the administration and providing possible details on Cabello's involvement with the international drug trade.[102] Salazar claims that Cabello is the leader of the Cartel of the Suns, an alleged military drug trafficking organization in Venezuela.[72] Salazar stated that he saw Cabello give orders on transporting tons of cocaine.[72] The shipments of drugs were reportedly sent from FARC in Colombia and sent to the United States and Europe, with the possible assistance of Cuba.[72][102] The alleged international drug operation had possibly involved senior members of Venezuela's government as well.[72][102]

On 18 May 2015,

drug trafficking.[104] Morandy was released shortly thereafter while Cammarano was still detained.[105]

Narcosobrinos incident

Main article:
Narcosobrinos incident
United States Drug Enforcement Administration
on 10 November 2015.

In October and November 2015, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began monitoring two nephews of President Nicolás Maduro's wife Cilia Flores—Efraín Antonio Campo Flores and Francisco Flores de Freites—after the two had contacted a person who was a DEA informant. They wanted advice on how to traffic cocaine. They brought to the meeting a kilogram of the drug so that the informant could understand its quality.[84] On 10 November 2015, Campo Flores and Flores de Freites, were arrested in Port-au-Prince, Haiti by local police while attempting to make a deal to transport 800 kilograms[106] of cocaine destined for New York City and were turned over to the DEA where they were flown directly to the United States.[84][107][108] The men flew from a hangar reserved for the President of Venezuela in Simón Bolívar International Airport into Haiti while being assisted by Venezuelan military personnel, which included two presidential honor guards, with the nephews carrying Venezuelan diplomatic passports which did not have diplomatic immunity according to the former head of DEA international operations Michael Vigil.[65][66][107] A later raid of Efraín Antonio Campo Flores' "Casa de Campo" mansion and yacht in the Dominican Republic revealed an additional 280 lbs of cocaine and 22 lbs of heroin, with 176 lbs of the drugs found in the home while the remainder was discovered in his yacht.[109]

Campo stated on the DEA plane that he was the

Tarek El Aissami.[110] It is expected that without cooperating with investigators, Maduro's nephews could face between 20 and 30 years in prison.[110] Due to the extradition process, New York courts could not apprehend those who assisted the nephews on their way to Haiti.[66] The incident happened at a time when multiple high-ranking members of the Venezuelan government were being investigated for their involvement in drug trafficking,[84] including Walter Jacobo Gavidia, Flores' son who is a Caracas judge, as well as Diosdado Cabello and Tarek El Aissami.[65][110] It was also stated by those close to the case that there are more sealed warrants linked to the incident.[110]

A month later on 15 December 2015, United States prosecutors in Brooklyn said that they would prosecute General

Vladimir Padrino as well as the Venezuelan National Guard replied to the charges by sending out a group of Tweets in defense of Reverol.[112]

Government assistance of terrorist organizations

Main article: Venezuela and state-sponsored terrorism

FARC

Before the 2002 coup attempt, discontent within the military was created when Chávez forced them to assist the

Colombian government, supplying ID cards so they could move freely through Venezuela and sending members of Bolivarian Circles to their camps to receive guerilla training.[86] The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) accused Chavez's government of funding FARC's Caracas office and giving it access to intelligence services, and said that during the 2002 coup attempt that, "FARC also responded to requests from (Venezuela's intelligence service) to provide training in urban terrorism involving targeted killings and the use of explosives." Venezuelan diplomats denounced the IISS' findings saying that they had "basic inaccuracies".[113]

Raúl Reyes of the FARC

In 2007, authorities in

FARC "among other financial and political ties that date back years" and documents showing the FARC rebels sought Venezuelan assistance in acquiring surface-to-air missiles, and alleging that Chavez met personally with rebel leaders.[46][114][115] According to Interpol, the files found by Colombian forces were considered to be authentic.[116]

Independent analyses of the documents by a number of U.S. academics and journalists have challenged the Colombian interpretation of the documents, accusing the Colombian government of exaggerating their contents.[117][118] According to Greg Palast, the claim about Chavez's $300 million is based on the following (translated) sentence: "With relation to the 300, which from now on we will call 'dossier', efforts are now going forward at the instructions of the cojo [slang term for 'cripple'], which I will explain in a separate note." The separate note is allegedly speaking of a hostage exchange with the FARC that Chavez was supposedly helping to negotiate at that time. Palast suggests that the "300" is supposedly a reference to "300 prisoners" (the number involved in a FARC prisoner exchange) and not "300 million".[117]

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Treasury accused two senior Venezuelan government officials and one former official of providing material assistance for drug-trafficking operations carried out by the

Jose Miguel Insulza, testified before the U.S. Congress that "there are no evidences [sic]" that Venezuela is supporting "terrorist groups", including the FARC.[119]

Hezbollah and others

Information regarding the sale of Venezuelan passports to foreign individuals became available in 2003.

2014–15 Venezuelan protests.[58]

Statements by the United States on Venezuela's assistance

Members of the Venezuelan government were also accused of providing financial aid to

conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, Noriega states that two witnesses have told him that Ghazi Nasr Al-Din, a Venezuelan diplomat in Syria, was an operative of Hezbollah who used Venezuelan entities to launder money for Hezbollah with President Maduro's personal approval.[59]

In a Fox News Sunday interview on 13 August 2017 with Director of the CIA Mike Pompeo, the director stated regarding Venezuela that "the Iranians, Hezbollah are there".[122]

The Trump Administration proposed on 19 November 2018 to list Venezuela as a state sponsor of terrorism.[123][124]

Other research on Venezuela's assistance

Part of a document sent by Misael López Soto to his superiors regarding irregularities at the Embassy of Venezuela in Iraq.

In 2003, General Marcos Ferreira, head of Venezuela's Department of Immigration and Foreigners (DIEX) from 2002 (departing after having supported the

Al Qaeda to cross borders into Venezuela and that in a three-year timeframe, 2,520 Colombians and 279 "Syrians" became citizens of Venezuela.[125][126]

In a study by the

shell companies which have bank accounts in Venezuela, Panama, Curacao, St. Lucia, Miami and Lebanon. Tarek El Aissami's father Zaidan El Amin El Aissami, was the leader of a small Ba'athist party in Venezuela.[127][128] Former Vice President José Vicente Rangel who served under Hugo Chavez denounced the SFS study stating that it was a "combined campaign" by SFS and the Canadian government to attack Venezuela, though Ben Rowswell, the Canadian ambassador in Venezuela, denied the accusations by Rangel.[129]

In 2015, Spanish journalist Emili Blasco released Bumerán Chávez, a book investigating allegations from high-ranking Chavista whistleblowers. According to former Finance Minister Rafael Isea, while President Nicolás Maduro was Chávez's foreign minister, Maduro was present at a 2007 meeting in Damascus with Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah that was set up by former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.[57][60] Isea arrived in Damascus and a Syrian security officer escorted Isea to Maduro where he was waiting at a hotel.[60] The two then met with the Hezbollah leader and Maduro promoted Venezuelan diplomat Ghazi Atef Nassereddine, an individual who supposedly raised money for Hezbollah in Latin America.[60] Maduro made other negotiations with Nasrallah and allowed 300 Hezbollah members "to fundraise in Venezuela".[57]

In February 2017,

CICPC officer, the Bolivarian government would sell authentic passports to individuals from the Middle East, with the Venezuelan passport able to access 130 countries throughout the world without a visa requirement. López provided CNN documents showing how his superiors attempted to cover up the sale of passports, which were being sold from $5,000 to $15,000 per passport. López Soto fled the Venezuelan embassy in Iraq in 2015 to meet with the FBI in Spain, with a Venezuelan official who assisted him in flying out of the country being killed the same day. The investigation also found that between 2008 and 2012, Tareck El Aissami ordered hundreds of Middle Eastern individuals to obtain illegal passports, including members of Hezbollah.[120][130]

Following the report, CNN was expelled from Venezuela and the Venezuelan government accused the channel of being "(A threat to) the peace and democratic stability of our Venezuelan people since they generate an environment of intolerance."[131][132]

Kleptocracy

InSight Crime states that state funds "have been pillaged on an industrial scale by the Bolivarian elite" and that "kleptocracy has certainly been one of the main factors that has brought Venezuela to the edge of economic collapse and bankruptcy".[133] Price controls introduced by President Chávez in 2003 helped establish kleptocratic practices that still occur in Venezuela today, allowing officials to buy dollars for cheap and then exchange them bolívares at a higher black market rate so they could exchange for more dollars.[133]

It has been estimated that between the mid-2000s and the mid-2010s, over $300 billion was misused by the Bolivarian government.[38] The opposition-led National Assembly estimated that about $87 billion had been embezzled between multiple projects, including $27 billion by the Ministry of Food, $25 billion by the Ministry of Electricity, $22 billion for unfinished transportation works $11 billion by PDVSA and $1.5 billion by the Ministry of Health.[134]

Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA)

Bloomberg states that "Chávez's ascent to power also brought about corruption on a scale never before seen at PDVSA".[135] In 2016, it was revealed that from 2004 to 2014, $11 billion was funneled out of PDVSA, with billions of dollars "paid for fraudulent contracts for oil rigs, ships, and refineries". United States officials believe that the Bolivarian government has used PDVSA to launder money for Colombian guerrillas and help them traffic cocaine through Venezuela.[135]

Cronyism and patronage

Boliburguesía

Main article:
Boliburguesía

Boliburguesía is a term describing the new

Acción Democrática says that corruption in the financial industry[140] and other sectors[141] was tied to functionaries of the administration.[140]

During Hugo Chávez's tenure, he seized thousands of properties and businesses while also reducing the footprint of foreign companies.[142] Venezuela's economy was then largely state-run and was operated by military officers who had their business and government affairs connected.[142] Senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Harold Trinkunas, stated that involving the military in business was "a danger", with Trinkunas explaining that the Venezuelan military "has the greatest ability to coerce people, into business like they have".[142] According to Bloomberg Markets Magazine, "[b]y showering contracts on former military officials and pro-government business executives, Chávez put a new face on the system of patronage".[142]

Government-owned companies

According to USA Today, the policies of Chávez's "Socialism for the 21st century" included "the bloating of state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., or PDVSA, with patronage hires" which led to mismanagement of the petroleum industry in Venezuela according to experts.[143] Financial Times also called the PDVSA "a source of patronage" and that "the number of employees, hired on the basis of their loyalty to the 'Bolivarian Revolution', has tripled since 2003 to more than 121,000".[144]

In 2006, Rafael Ramírez, then energy minister, gave PDVSA workers a choice: Support President Hugo Chávez, or lose their jobs. The minister also said: "PDVSA is red [the color identified with Chávez's political party], red from top to bottom". Chávez defended Ramírez, saying that public workers should back the "revolution". He added that "PDVSA's workers are with this revolution, and those who aren't should go somewhere else. Go to Miami".[145] PDVSA continues to hire only supporters of the president, and a large amount of its revenue is used to fund political projects.[146]

Governorships

Under both Chávez and Maduro, if Bolivarian candidates lost gubernatorial elections, the presidents would name the candidates "Protectors" to act as governors of the state, an action that is non-existent in Venezuelan law. Chávez and Maduro would instead recognize the "Protectors" and provide funds to establish a parallel government to opposition governors who were elected.[147]

Local Committees of Supply and Production (CLAP)

Main article: Local Committees for Supply and Production
Venezuelans required government issued Carnet de la Patria (Homeland Card) cards to receive CLAP food.

While Venezuelans were suffering from shortages of food, the Bolivarian government created the Local Committees of Supply and Production (CLAP) in 2016. The committees, controlled by supporters of President Maduro, were designated to provide subsidized food and goods to poor Venezuelan households directly. According to the Vice President of Venezuela,

Nicolas Maduro

Luisa Ortega Díaz, Chief Prosecutor of Venezuela from 2007 to 2017, revealed that President Maduro had been profiting from the food crisis. CLAP made contracts with Group Grand Limited, a group owned by Maduro through frontmen Rodolfo Reyes, Álvaro Uguedo Vargas and Alex Saab. Group Grand Limited, a Mexican entity owned by Maduro, would sell foodstuffs to CLAP and receive government funds.[149][150][151]

On 19 April 2018 after a multilateral meeting between over a dozen European and Latin American countries, United States Department of the Treasury officials stated that they had collaborated with Colombian officials to investigate corrupt import programs of the Maduro administration including CLAP, explaining that Venezuelan officials pocketed 70% of the proceeds allocated for importation programs destined to alleviate hunger in Venezuela. Nations said that they sought to seize the corrupt proceeds that were being funneled into the accounts of Venezuelan officials and hold them for a possible future government in Venezuela.[152][153] A month later on 17 May 2018, the Colombian government seized 25,200 CLAP boxes containing about 400 tons of decomposing food, which was destined to be distributed to the Venezuelan public.[154] The Colombian government stated that they were investigating shell companies and money laundering related to CLAP operations, saying that the shipment was to be used to buy votes during the 2018 Venezuelan presidential election.[154]

Tascón List

Main article: Tascón List

The Tascón List is a list of millions of signatures of Venezuelans who petitioned in 2003 and 2004 for the recall of the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, a petition which ultimately led to the 2004 Venezuelan recall referendum, in which the recall was defeated.[155] The list, published online by National Assembly member Luis Tascón, is used by the Venezuelan government to discriminate against those who have signed against Chávez.[155] The list made "sectarianism official" with Venezuelans who signed against Chávez being denied jobs, benefits, documents and were under the threat of harassment.[155]

Police opinion

During the beginning of

National Guardsmen were detained for refusing to sign the book "Hands Off Venezuela" and expressing their agreement with the entrance of humanitarian aid.[159]

Nepotism

Under presidents Chavez and Maduro, nepotism increased within the Venezuelan government.[147]

President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have been accused of nepotism, with individuals claiming that several of her close relatives became employees of the National Assembly when she became elected deputy.[160][161] According to the Venezuelan newspaper Tal Cual, 16 relatives of Flores were in an office while she was in the National Assembly.[162] In 2012, relatives of Flores were removed from office.[162] However, relatives who were removed from office found other occupations in the government a year later.[163] President Maduro's son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, and other relatives have also been used as examples of alleged nepotism.[163]

According to The Atlantic, Diosdado Cabello lavishly rewards friends and even helps fill government offices with members of his own family. His wife is a member of the National Assembly, his brother is in charge of the nation's taxation authority, and his sister is a Venezuelan delegate to the United Nations.[68]

Governmental branches

Legislative system

In the 2013 corruption report by Transparency International, 66% of Venezuelan respondents believed that the legislative system was corrupt in Venezuela.

National Assembly, was rated 21% transparent, the least transparent in Latin America.[165]

Judicial system

Venezuela's judicial system has been deemed the most corrupt in the world by Transparency International.[166] Human Rights Watch accuse Hugo Chávez and his allies of taking over the Supreme Court in 2004, filling it with supporters and making new measures allowing the government to dismiss justices from the court.[34] In 2010, legislators from Chávez's political party appointed 9 permanent judges and 32 stand-ins, which included several allies.[34] HRW fears that judges may face reprisals if they rule against government interests.[34]

In December 2014, moderate left newspaper El Espectador stated in an article about the accusations against María Corina Machado saying that prosecutions in Venezuela go by a "familiar script", stating that "[t]he executive branch first publicly launches accusations at an opposition politician, state prosecutors then set about compiling formal charges, and the entire process is ultimately confirmed by the Supreme Court".[167]

Public opinion

In a 2014 Gallup poll, 61% of Venezuelans lack confidence in the judicial system.

civil justice and 100% believing that there was improper influence in criminal justice.[41]

Authorities

Police

See also: Police corruption

Venezuela's corruption includes widespread corruption in the police force.[168] Criminologists and experts have stated that low wages and lack of police supervision have been attributed to police corruption.[169] Many victims are afraid to report crimes to the police because many officers are involved with criminals and may bring even more harm to the victims.[170] Human Rights Watch has reported that the "police commit one of every five crimes" and that thousands of people have been killed by police officers acting with impunity; only 3% of officers have been charged in cases against them.[34] The Metropolitan Police force in Caracas was so corrupt that it was disbanded and was even accused of assisting in many of the 17,000 kidnappings.[171]

See also

General:

Notes

  1. ^ Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-1118011362
    .
  2. ^ From 1917, "greater awareness of the country's oil potential had the pernicious effect of increasing the corruption and intrigue amongst Gomez's family and entourage, the consequences of which would be felt up to 1935 – B. S. McBeth (2002), Juan Vicente Gómez and the Oil Companies in Venezuela, 1908–1935, Cambridge University Press, p17.
  3. ^ "A Venezuelan Refugee Crisis". Council on Foreign Relations. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Venezuelans Saw Political Instability Before Protests". Gallup. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Venezuelans in US March Against Their Country's Violent, Corrupt Government". Christian Post. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  6. ^ "The ABCs of the CPI: How the Corruption Perceptions Index is calculated". Transparency.org. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Corruption Perceptions Index 2024: Venezuela". Transparency.org. 11 February 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Corruption Perceptions Index 2024: Americas". Transparency.org. CPI2024_Map_Americas_EN.pdf. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  9. ^ a b Bastidas, Gabriel (18 April 2023). "Casos de corrupción del chavismo investigados internacionalmente suman US$ 70.000 millones". Monitoreamos (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Coronel, Gustavo. "Corruption, Mismanagement, and Abuse of Power in Hugo Chávez's Venezuela". Cato Institute.
  11. ^ Marx, Gary (22 September 1991). "Venezuela Corruption-from A To Z". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  12. ^
    ISBN 978-1426948466
    .
  13. ^ a b c d Marx, Karl (1858). "Bolivar y Ponte". marxists.org. Retrieved 18 August 2010. First published in the New American Cyclopedia, Vol. III, 1858.
  14. ^
    ISBN 9780801891281
    .
  15. ISBN 978-0791092583
    .
  16. ^
    ISBN 978-0313313561
    .
  17. ISBN 978-0742537392
    .
  18. ISBN 978-0742562134
    .
  19. ^ Arana, Marie (17 April 2013). "Latin America's Go-To Hero". The New York Times.
  20. ISBN 978-0742537392
    .
  21. ISBN 9781412843980
    . Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  22. ISBN 978-0143124887
    .
  23. ^
    ISSN 1913-8067
    .
  24. ISBN 9789802112661
    .
  25. ISSN 1134-6582
    . Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  26. ^ "¿El "chinito de Recadi" fue el único preso por corrupción en la "Cuarta República", como dijo Jorge Rodríguez?". Espaja. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  27. ^ Kada, Naoko (2003), "Impeachment as a punishment for corruption? The cases of Brazil and Venezuela", in Jody C. Baumgartner, Naoko Kada (eds, 2003), Checking executive power: presidential impeachment in comparative perspective, Greenwood Publishing Group
  28. ISBN 978-0742562134
    .
  29. ^ "Treasury Targets Venezuelan Government Officials Supporting the FARC". Press Release. United States Department of Treasury. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  30. ^ a b Meza, Alfredo (26 September 2013). "Corrupt military officials helping Venezuela drug trade flourish". El Pais. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  31. ^ a b "Treasury Targets Hizballah in Venezuela". Press Release. United States Department of Treasury. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  32. ^ Romero, Simon (4 February 2011). "In Venezuela, an American Has the President's Ear". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  33. ^ "Venezuela's Drug-Running Generals May Be Who Finally Ousts Maduro". Vice News. 31 March 2014. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  34. ^ a b c d e f "World Report 2012: Venezuela". Human Rights Watch. 22 January 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  35. ^ a b "Venezuela ocupa último lugar de naciones latinoamericanas analizadas". El Nacional. 8 March 2014. Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  36. ^ "Venezuela violates human rights, OAS commission reports". CNN. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  37. ^ "Democracy to the rescue?". Foreign Policy. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  38. ^ a b c O'Brien, Matt (19 May 2016). "There has never been a country that should have been so rich but ended up this poor". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  39. ^ "Factbox: Transparency International's global corruption index". Reuters. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  40. ^ "Global Corruption Barometer 2010/11". Transparency International. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  41. ^ a b c "Venezuela". World Justice Project. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  42. ^ a b c d Coronel, Gustavo (4 March 2008). "The Corruption of Democracy in Venezuela". Cato Institute. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  43. ^ Fuentes, F. (2005), "Challenges for Venezuela's Workers' Movement". Green Left Weekly. Accessed 15 February 2006.
  44. ^ Márquez, H. (2005), "ENVIRONMENT-VENEZUELA: Indigenous Peoples Protest Coal Mining". Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2014. Inter Press Service. Accessed 2 February 2006.
  45. ISBN 978-0143124887
    .
  46. ^ a b Padgett, Tim (3 September 2008). "Chávez and the Cash-Filled Suitcase". TIME. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  47. ^ "Another stashed money scandal rocks Kirchner's administration". Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  48. ^ "Venezuelan Valise with $790,550 Roils U.S.-Argentina Relations - Bloomberg". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  49. National Defense University
    : 118–33.
  50. ^
    Agencia EFE. 31 July 2010. Archived from the original
    on 4 August 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  51. ^ Agencia Venezolana de Noticias (1 August 2010). "Audiencia preliminar por caso PDVAL será el 10 de agosto". El Nacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 July 2010. [dead link‍]
  52. ^ García Mora, Ileana (6 November 2011). "Los tres acusados por el caso PDVAL serán enjuiciados en libertad condicional". El Mundo (Venezuela). Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  53. Últimas Noticias. 14 May 2012. Archived from the original
    on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  54. ^ Ackerman, Sasha (15 May 2012). "Rechazan incluir en orden del día caso de alimentos descompuestos de PDVAL". Globovisión. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  55. ^ Valery, Yolanda (8 June 2010). "Venezuela: escándalo por alimentos vencidos" (in Spanish). BBC. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  56. ^ a b "Venezuelan president wins OCCRP person of the year for 2016". OCCRP. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  57. ^ a b c d e Cristóbal Nagel, Juan (28 April 2015). "Something Is Rotten in the State of Venezuela". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  58. ^
    ISBN 978-1482244229
    .
  59. ^ a b Noriega, Roger F. "Hezbollah in the streets of Caracas?". AEIdeas. American Enterprise Institute. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  60. ^ a b c d Reback, Gedalyah (22 April 2015). "New Book Reveals Venezuela-Hezbollah Narcotics Alliance". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  61. ^ Pérez-Peña, Richard; Dzhambazova, Boryana (13 February 2019). "Millions Flowed From Venezuelan Oil Firm to Small Bulgarian Bank". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  62. ^ https://www.dw.com/en/how-millions-of-dirty-dollars-were-laundered-out-of-venezuela/a-47867313, https://www.dw.com/en/how-millions-of-dirty-dollars-were-laundered-out-of-venezuela/a-47867313, DW, 13 March 2019
  63. ^ "Venezuela oil firm 'transferred millions of euros to Bulgarian bank'". euronews. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  64. ^ https://financialobserver.eu/recent-news/bulgaria-investigates-money-laundering-from-venezuela-via-investbank/, Bulgaria investigates money laundering from Venezuela via Investbank, Financial Observer, 14 February 2019
  65. ^ a b c d e Yagoub, Mimi. "Venezuela Military Officials Piloted Drug Plane". InSight Crime. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  66. ^ a b c d Blasco, Emili J. (19 November 2015). "La Casa Militar de Maduro custodió el traslado de droga de sus sobrinos". ABC. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  67. ^ a b "Demanda afirma que Diosdado Cabello recibió sobornos por $50 millones". El Nuevo Herald. 28 March 2014. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  68. ^ a b c Lansberg-Rodríguez, Daniel (6 March 2014). "The Frank Underwood of Venezuela". The Atlantic. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  69. ^ "Lawsuit filed in Miami accuses Venezuela top official, Diosdado Cabello, of bribery - Venezuela - MiamiHerald.com". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014.
  70. ^ "The billion-dollar fraud". The Economist. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  71. ^ "In Venezuela, Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely". Bloomberg. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  72. ^
    ABC
    . Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  73. ^
    Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
    Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  74. ^ "Derwick". www.derwick.com. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  75. ^ "Derwick Associates desmiente vinculación con Diosdado Cabello". Archived from the original on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  76. ^ "NC Command Attacks Criminal Team: Diosdado Cabello-Freddy Bernal-Eliezer Otaiza". Ahora Vision. 29 March 2014. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  77. ^ Marrero, Rodolfo Cardona (6 December 2000). "Comecandela al servicio del palacio de Miraflores". El Universal. Retrieved 8 February 2010. Rodríguez Chacín fue uno de los participantes en el fallido intento de golpe del 27 de noviembre de 1992.
  78. ^ "How Hugo Chavez Courted FARC". Der Spiegel. 6 April 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  79. ^ "Treasury Targets Venezuelan Government Officials Supporting the FARC". U.S. Department of the Treasury press release. 12 September 2008. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  80. ^ Romero, Simon (2 August 2009). "Venezuela Still Aids Colombia Rebels, New Material Shows". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  81. Agence France Press. 9 May 2008. Archived from the original
    on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  82. ^ De Córdoba, José (25 November 2008). "Chávez Lets Colombia Rebels Wield Power Inside Venezuela". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  83. ^ Diehl, Jackson (29 May 2015). "A drug cartel's power in Venezuela". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  84. ^ a b c d e de Córdoba, José (11 November 2015). "U.S. Arrests Two Relatives of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Drug-Trafficking Charges". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  85. ^ a b Meza, Alfredo (26 September 2013). "Corrupt military officials helping Venezuela drug trade flourish". El Pais. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  86. ^
    ISBN 978-1568584188
    .
  87. ^ "Venezuela, Colombia and the FARC Connection". Stratfor. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  88. ^ a b c d e "El Montesinos de Chávez". Semana. 2 February 2008. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  89. ^ a b "Treasury Targets Venezuelan Government Officials Supporting the FARC". Press Release. United States Department of Treasury. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  90. ^ (in Spanish) El País, 16 July 2009 El narcotráfico penetra en Venezuela
  91. ^ Becker, Jo (13 December 2011). "Beirut Bank Seen as a Hub of Hezbollah's Financing". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  92. ^ a b Lopez, Linette (19 May 2015). "NYC's most legendary prosecutor sees a darker threat in Venezuela's alleged global cocaine hub". Business Insider. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  93. ^ Sanchez, Nora (15 February 2014). "Detienen a comandante de la Milicia con cargamento de drogas". El Universal. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  94. ^ "Aruba detains Venezuelan general on US drug trafficking list". BBC News. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  95. ^ Neuman, William (24 July 2014). "Former Venezuelan Intelligence Chief Arrested in Aruba". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  96. ^ Kejal Vyas; Juan Forero (24 July 2014). "Retired Venezuelan General Hugo Carvajal Detained on U.S. Petition". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  97. ^ "Aruba releases Venezuelan ex-general wanted in U.S." CNN. 28 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  98. ^ "Treasury Targets Venezuelan Government Officials Supporting the FARC". U.S. Department of the Treasury. 12 September 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  99. ^ "Cómo explica Holanda la liberación del general venezolano Hugo Carvajal". BBC Mundo. BBC News. 28 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  100. ^ "Netherlands Says Venezuelan Detained in Aruba Has Immunity". The Wall Street Journal. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  101. ^ "Aruba frees Venezuelan diplomat wanted in US on drugs charges". Deutsche Welle. 28 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  102. ^ a b c d Maria Delgado, Antonio (26 January 2015). "Identifican a Diosdado Cabello como jefe del Cartel de los Soles". El Nuevo Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  103. ^ Molina, Thabata (28 May 2015). "Venezuelan Police Seize Top Narco, Supreme Court Justice at Airport". PanAm Post. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  104. ^ Francisco Alonso, Juan (27 May 2015). "Caso de la exmagistrada Morandy no figuró en la agenda del pleno del TSJ". El Universal. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  105. ^ "Dirigente justifica marcha convocada por opositor preso en Venezuela". Notimex. 26 May 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  106. ^ Kay Guerrero; Claudia Dominguez (12 November 2015). "U.S. agents arrest members of Venezuelan President's family in Haiti". CNN.
  107. ^ a b Goodman, Joshua; Caldwell, Alicia A.; Sanchez, Fabiola (11 November 2015). "Nephews of Venezuelan First Lady Arrested on US Drug Charges". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  108. ^
    Fox News Latino
    . Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  109. ^ "Dominican police raid mansion, yacht of Venezuelan president's kin, find 280lb of cocaine". Fox News Latino. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  110. ^ a b c d Delgado, Antonio Maria (18 November 2015). "Hijo de primera dama de Venezuela también es investigado por narcotráfico". El Nuevo Herald. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  111. ^ Christopher Matthews in New, York; José De Córdoba in Mexico, City (16 December 2015). "U.S. to Charge Venezuelan Military Officials". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  112. ^ a b Harte, Julia; Raymond, Nate (16 December 2015). "Exclusive: U.S. to charge Venezuela's National Guard chief with drug trafficking". Reuters India. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015.
  113. ^ Martinez, Michael (10 May 2011). "Study: Colombian rebels were willing to kill for Venezuela's Chavez". CNN. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  114. ^ "FARC files 'show ties to Chavez'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  115. ^ "Colombia: Chavez funding FARC rebels". USA Today. 4 March 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  116. ^ Forero, Juan (16 May 2008). "FARC Computer Files Are Authentic, Interpol Probe Finds". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  117. ^ a b Palast, Greg (16 May 2008). "$300 Million From Chavez to FARC a Fake". Tomaine.com/Ourfuture.org. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  118. ^ "Interpol Analysis of FARC Laptop Authenticity Will Not "Prove" Links Between Venezuela, Rebels". derechos.org. 25 April 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  119. ^ "OAS' Insulza: There is No Evidence of Venezuelan Support to Terrorists". El Universal. 10 April 2008. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  120. ^
    CNN Español
    . Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  121. ^ Noriega, Roger F. "Hezbollah in Latin America: Implications for U.S. Homeland Security" (PDF). homeland.house.gov/sites/homeland.house.gov/files/Testimony%20Noriega.pdf. The House Committee on Homeland Security. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  122. ^ Weber, Joseph (13 August 2017). "CIA's Pompeo says no 'imminent' threat of nuclear war". Fox News. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  123. ^ "Trump administration prepares to add Venezuela to list of state sponsors of terrorism". The Washington Post. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  124. ^ "What would it mean to put Venezuela on the U.S. list of nations that sponsor terrorism?". Miami Herald. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  125. ^ Arostegui (10 October 2003). "Venezuela accused of al-Qaida link". UPI. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  126. ^ Neumann, Vanessa. "The New Nexus of Narcoterrorism: Hezbollah and Venezuela". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  127. ^ "Venezuela, el principal nexo de Hezbollah para su ingreso a América del Norte". Infobae. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  128. ^ Maria Delgado, Antonio (10 September 2014). "Venezuela, trampolin del Hezbola". El Nuevo Herald. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  129. ^ Siekierski, BJ (21 October 2014). "In Venezuela, Canadian envoy takes to Twitter to refute conspiracy theories". iPolitics. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  130. ^ "Diplomático venezolano denunció la entrega de documentos a terroristas | Venezuela, Terrorismo, Hezbollah – América". Infobae. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  131. ^ Steve Almasy (16 February 2017). "CNN en Español kicked off air in Venezuela". cnn.com. Archived from the original on 27 March 2017.
  132. ^ "Maduro: ¡Fuera CNN de Venezuela! (Video)". La Patilla (in European Spanish). No. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  133. ^
    Medellin, Colombia: InSight Crime
    . 2018. pp. 3–84.
  134. ^ "AN ha detectado malversación superior a 87 mil millones de dólares-Transparencia Venezuela". Transparencia Venezuela (in European Spanish). 24 March 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  135. ^ a b Bronner, Ethan; Smith, Michael (8 December 2016). "If You Have Dirt on Venezuela, This Man Might Be Able to Cut You a Deal". Bloomberg. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  136. ^ Valery, Yolanda (2 December 2009). "Boliburguesía: nueva clase venezolana" (in Spanish). BBC Mundo. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  137. ^ Romero, Simon (16 February 2010). "Purging Loyalists, Chávez Tightens His Inner Circle". The New York Times.
  138. ^ "Auge y caída de un boliburgués" (in Spanish). talcualdigital.com. 24 November 2009. Archived from the original on 25 November 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2010. La boliburguesía –un término acuñado por el periodista Juan Carlos Zapata para definir a la oligarquía que ha crecido bajo protección del gobierno chavista– consituye hoy una "nueva clase social" de empresarios y políticos que se han servido de la falta de control del Parlamento, Fiscalía y Contraloría, para enriquecerse y hacer toda suerte de negocios, algunas veces de dudosa solvencia moral
  139. ^ "Henry Ramos Allup: Corrupción millonaria de boliburguesía con la complicidad de funcionarios" (in Spanish). informe21.com. 1 November 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  140. ^
    El Nacional (in Spanish). 30 November 2009. Archived from the original
    on 3 December 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  141. Globovision (in Spanish). 30 November 2009. Archived from the original
    on 4 February 2010.
  142. ^
    Bloomberg Business
    . Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  143. ^ Wilson, Peter (28 May 2012). "Venezuela's PDVSA oil company is bloated, 'falling apart'". USA Today. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  144. ^ Mander, Benedict (16 September 2012). "Venezuela: Up in smoke". Financial Times. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  145. ^ Storm over Venezuela oil speech, BBC News,4 November 2006. Accessed online 7 November 2006.
  146. ^ "Venezuela's oil industry: Up in smoke". The Economist. 27 August 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  147. ^
    ISBN 9788417014254
    .
  148. ^ Zuñiga, Mariana (10 December 2016). "How 'food apartheid' is punishing some Venezuelans". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  149. El Nacional
    (in Spanish). 23 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  150. ^ Wyss, Jim (23 August 2017). "Venezuela's ex-prosecutor Luisa Ortega accuses Maduro of profiting from nation's hunger". Miami Herald. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  151. ^ Prengaman, Peter (23 August 2017). "Venezuela's ousted prosecutor accuses Maduro of corruption". ABC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  152. ^ Campos, Rodrigo (19 April 2018). "U.S., Colombian probe targets Venezuela food import program". Reuters. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  153. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original
    on 19 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  154. ^ a b "Millonaria incautación de comida con gorgojo que iba a Venezuela". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 17 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  155. ^
    ISBN 9781594204579
    .
  156. ^ "Obligarán a funcionarios militares a firmar en contra de la "intervención"". El Nacional (in Spanish). 10 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  157. ^ "Detienen a funcionarios de PoliMariño por negarse a firmar documento en rechazo a la ayuda humanitaria". La Patilla. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  158. ^ "Denuncian despidos masivos en TVes por negarse a apoyar a Maduro (+Video)". Tenemos Noticias (in Spanish). 11 February 2019. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  159. ^ "Dos GNB fueron detenidos por respaldar el ingreso de la ayuda humanitaria". El Nacional (in Spanish). 18 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  160. ^ Clan Flores fuera de la AN Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  161. ^ "Es falso que tenga muchos familiares en la Asamblea" Archived 4 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine 30 May 2008.
  162. ^ a b Ayala Altuve, Dayimar (7 July 2012). "Fin al nepotismo Flores". Tal Cual. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  163. ^ a b Lozano, Daniel (5 October 2013). "Acusan de nepotismo a Maduro". El Diario. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  164. ^ "Venezuela". Transparency International. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  165. ^ "Perú tiene el Congreso más transparente de Latinoamérica, según estudio". Radio Programas del Perú. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  166. ^ "Corruption by Country / Territory: Venezuela". Transparency International. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  167. ^ "No Room For Dissent: Democracy at Stake in Venezuela". El Especatdor. 14 December 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  168. ^ Reel, M. "Crime Brings Venezuelans Into Streets". The Washington Post (10 May 2006), p. A17. Accessed 24 June 2006.
  169. ^ Clarembaux, Patricia; Tovar, Ernesto (29 October 2014). "La reforma policial en Venezuela, tarea inconclusa del chavismo". El Nuevo Herald. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  170. ^ Wills, Santiago (10 July 2013). "The World Is Getting More Corrupt, and These Are the 5 Worst Offenders". Fusion. Archived from the original on 25 August 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  171. ^ "Venezuela: Police corruption blamed for kidnapping epidemic". The Scotsman. 30 May 2011. Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.

Bibliography

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Corruption_in_Venezuela&oldid=1281876211"