The Maletagate continues, plus "fake socialism" accusations

Sorry, not much to say, I have been busy this week end and today I did not even bought the papers. However I felt like dropping a little note to keep folks somewhat up to date. In no particular order.

Globovison passed tonight about half of an Argentina newscast. Over there, the 800 000 bucks piece of luggage is an affair that is not going away. The head of Uberti apparently will not be enough.

In fact rumor has that Kirchner is pressing Chavez for a Venezuelan head. Naturally he is asking for the head of PDVSA in Buenos Aires. But Chavez is demurring, he really, really does not like to behead his supporters even when caught red handed. Usually in such cases they go into some discreet oblivion and if their "mistake" was not too grave they get rewarded for their loyalty and silence with some diplomatic position. This has become a feature of the regime I suppose, when the moral and financial corruption is so extended that nobody can get fired because too many people are afraid the fired guy will open his or her big mouth. Usually in such regimes when money becomes a tad scarcer, they start having "accidents".

If in Argentina the investigations seem to proceed as expected in Venezuela whatever little bit is does seem oriented at finding excuses. For example, Carroña, oops, Carreño, the interior minister of the "Dead Montesinos" fame is saying that the plane touched down in Bolivia. Let's visit this issue for a short while. Antonini got up on the plane empty handed. At a refueling stop in Bolivia he went down and picked up the bag of money. In Bolivia, of all places, where 800 000 USD is a colossal fortune to be given away just like that. Yeah right, and from someone of the negative credibility of Carroña we will buy that.... The objectives of the Venezuelan government are now clear: to pretend that the money did not leave from Venezuela AT ANY COST, to point all to Antonini, to not investigate seriously. Period. Just like Anderson case, excuses, more excuses and deliberate false leads...

And speaking of Antonini. The security cameras of Buenos Aires caught him as he was checking in for the Montevideo flight that took him away of the country. Now it is "el gordo Antonini". Venezuelans are a true joke over there... But the press found also a nice picture of a red Ferrari sponsored by Antonini (with others) and carrying the "Venezuela es de Todos" sticker. The Bolivarian Revolution associated with one of the richest "sports"?. Now I have sen it all! What next? The America Cup? Polo games with Bonnie Prince Charles?

For those who do not trust blogs, El Universal has now an historical account in English.

But that Ferrari association, or rather, miss-association with Venezuelan Socialism is not the only problem that Chavez must face in his defense of a democratic socialism which is looking faker by the minute. The socialist party of Spain, in earlier days a strong supporter of Chavez is now going the way of almost all European Socialists and Social Democratic parties: Chavez is a fake. Elena Valenciano, a spokesperson of the party, has said that they are "worried by the authoritarian drift of the regime". She also added their concern about "the clear intervention [of the state] in the media, controlling spaces that in many cases are pure and hard propaganda of the regime". Obviously in Spain RCTV has been closed, not silly "suspended" euphemism.

No wonder Chavez suspended his Alo Presidente today, with Maletagate his self promoting tour in LatAm, check book in hand, has tanked miserably. And if in addition the RCTV issue is far from leaving people's mind as he was also quizzed in Argentina during an interview...... I bet you today Miraflores was very busy with febrile damage control discussions. What they do not seem to understand that the more they delay their answer, or at least strategy, on the matter, the more pro Chavez opinion might start wondering....

-The end-

Why Chavez wants to close RCTV and Globovision

So, the scandal of the 800 000 dollars attaché kept making huge waves. In Argentina, that is. Even El Clarin give us a picture of what approximately would 800 000 USD look in a small suitcase. Definitely more than attaché is needed, even with 100 bills.

Today we learned the following from Argentina:

• One of the passengers, Claudio Uberti , was dismissed from position as assistant to the Planning Ministry. The said minister, De Vido, seems to be in trouble too.


• A judge decided that there are causes to investigate further the case, seized all of the 800 000 USD of the bag. there is no word as to the current whereabouts of Antonini. Apparently he left the country without bothering to recover the 400 000 that he could still recover if that cash were legitimate. Amazingly Clarin has found more information about Antonini than what we found about him in Venezuela so far.


• President Kirchner, sensing political trouble acted swiftly, not only asking for at least one head but going on the offensive saying that his government was effectively fighting corruption as the dismissals are supposed to suggest. Well, at least we will give him credit to remove the blatant cases of corruption in Argentina, which is not the case in another country closer to our hearts.

Because indeed, that is the point: while in Argentina things are moving, an investigation is taking place, some actions are done, in Venezuela the day was characterized by what DID NOT happen.

First, the Argentine press noted that the Venezuelan vice president made this whole business yet again a media manipulation from an international conspiracy. La Nacion goes as far as giving the article the following title "Venezuela takes distance again from the scandal", a clear allusion at the desire of chavismo to avoid its responsibility. Even better, ENARSA press representative complains about the nerve of the Venezuelan air hitchhikers to bring along such a suspect character as Antonini. In fact La Nacion uses the words "shot at the Caribbeans" as a clear ethnic prejudiced expression to qualify Venezuelans as not serious characters (or worse). In all fairness, it is hard to blame them after such a pitiful Venezuelan display, when Antonini left the country in a hurry..........

Indeed, the actions of Venezuelan officials were today less than stellar. If the Vice President was his usual self, the Republic Prosecutor Isaias Rodriguez was at his worst, or best depending on your angle. He simply said that it was an Argentinean problem, that any crime was perpetrated there, and that he would wait for the Argentina report to see if there were any cause worth opining an investigation at home.

Some one should explain to Isaias that there is a stringent currency exchange control in Venezuela and that if, say, this blogger were caught at an airport with 10 000 USD he would be in great trouble.

And we should not forget that this prosecutor is the one who, based on a deep look in the eyes of a Colombian criminal, found enough evidence in that look to jail a few people for the Anderson case that remains to date unsolved. In fact, he has no problem in keeping Patricia Poleo out in exile even as his whole case on the Anderson murder has completely collapsed and we have lost all hope to ever know who the heck was behind it all... but perhaps I should not be so hard on Isaias: at least he sort of told us not to worry, that nothing will be done about Antonini larceny.

Only Luis Vielma, one of the few chavista servants with an ounce of dignity left, told us that an investigation should be done because customs laws were broken. I bet you that this stand will come back to bite Vielma in the ass once Chavez comes back to Venezuela from his gift giving tour of LatAm.

So you see again why Chavez wants to close media such as RCTV and Globovision: these people do try to inquire the way the Argentina media inquired and already got one head. Chavez does not like that, he does want only submissive media which spend their time praising the great leader of the revolution. Go to ABN and search for news of PDVSA employees taking along with them a guy and his money bag. Nothing! You will find only stupid glorification of Chavez giving Venezuelan property as if it were his and only his to give around, and the speech of the Vice President of course.

Let RCTV and Globovision be closed and Venezuelans will not know anymore about official money laundering, about the sacking of the country by Chavez cronies. At a time by the way where corruption is reaching unequaled heights in our history.

-The end-

"A bagman's tale": a fine editorial the Washington Post left us in our Christmas stockings

On the first day back to blogging business after a wonderful Christmas the Washington Post give us a great editorial that shows us the damage that the Antonini money bag is inflicting on Argentina and Venezuela. Self inflicted wounds, do not forget. Now, for such an editorial to be published in the Post, even during the slow week of Christmas, gives you an idea on how the ignorance, manipulation and plain bad faith of Chavez and the Kirchners is affecting their international standing. That is, if the Bush administration had little to do with the indictments issued in Miami a week ago, now it will have the support of the Washington Post in helping along the investigation. Imagine that!!!!

Because this is the drama of ignorant thieves when they get caught red handed. As the Kirchners feel the bag heat searing their butts, they start badmouthing the US judicial system, for ignorance or calumny, who cares, the result is the same. That speech might score a few points for them with their audience (it seems that the US image is worse in Argentina of all LatAm countries). Maybe the naive will indeed come to think that the CIA put Antonini in that plane with 800 000 US dollars, but overseas, where it matters, Cristina K. will have four long years of no one taking her seriously. See, she does not even have a fat check book like Chavez to force her way into the social circles she would love to join of the international mighty.


A Bagman's Tale

Did Hugo Chávez purchase the allegiance of Argentina's new president?

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

IT'S LONG been well known that the close relations between Venezuela and Argentina are not the result of mere ideological affinity: Under President Hugo Chávez, Venezuela has purchased some $4 billion in Argentine bonds, bailing out a government whose paper is widely shunned in international financial markets.

Now it's emerging that Mr. Chávez's personal ties to Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner also may have been fueled with petrodollars. According to a U.S. prosecutor in Florida, Venezuela's self-styled socialist revolutionary dispatched a bagman to Buenos Aires last August with $800,000 for Ms. Kirchner's election campaign. When police seized the cash-filled suitcase, assistant U.S. attorney Thomas Mulvihill said last week, Venezuelan and Argentine authorities conspired to cover up the matter by offering the intermediary $2 million in hush money.

This seamy story is coming to light because the alleged bagman, Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, happens to be a dual U.S.-Venezuelan citizen with a home in Florida. After his bag was discovered at a Buenos Aires military airport on Aug. 4, Mr. Antonini began cooperating with U.S. law enforcement. Mr. Mulvihill said at a court hearing that numerous recorded conversations document the attempt by Venezuela and Argentina to silence Mr. Antonini, working through businessmen close to the Venezuelan government and a Venezuelan intelligence agent. Three Venezuelans and a Uruguayan were arrested in Florida on Dec. 12 and charged with being unregistered agents of the Venezuelan government; a fifth suspect is at large.

Ms. Fernández de Kirchner, who took office days before the arrests were made, replaced her husband, Néstor Kirchner, a populist who allowed Mr. Chávez to use Argentina as a staging point for anti-American demonstrations. Argentines and Americans who hoped the change of presidents would lead to an improvement in U.S.-Argentine relations are disappointed; some, demonstrating their ignorance of the U.S. legal system, blame the Bush administration for the results of a criminal investigation. The Kirchners' reaction shows that hopes for a change in Argentina's foreign policy were probably misplaced. Rather than distancing themselves from the scandal, both have joined Mr. Chávez in making wild charges about White House "dirty tricks" and a supposed Bush administration plot to subjugate Argentina.

"Relations with the United States are not good, and Argentina isn't a colony" of the United States, Mr. Kirchner declared last Tuesday, shortly after his wife conferred privately with Mr. Chávez. That, of course, doesn't answer the question many Argentines are asking -- which is whether Argentina is becoming a colony of Venezuela.

-The end-

A corruption "gotcha'" in Venezuela

This week we have a clear, smoking gun evidence, of the extent of Venezuelan corruption. With even a price tag.

The basic facts

Chavez went to Argentina last week end to buy 1 billion dollars (US) of rather bad Argentinean debt. It is not the case to discuss the real motivations of the trip here, just that Chavez, without even discussing matters with the National Assembly, for example, goes to Argentina to buy bonds. Just so, because he decided it.

Unfortunately there was a small cash tip going along with that billion: someone claiming to be with the Chavez entourage, arrived on a private flight carrying 800 000 USD. Cash, cold cash in some attaché. The Venezuelan ambassador in Buenos Aires was quick to say that the guy carrying the cash had nothing to do with the Venezuelan embassy.

La Nacion of Argentina carries the names of the passengers (linked to ENARSA, the Argentinean oil state company) and the tale of what happened at the airport. One of them, Uberti, is closely linked to all the Argentina-Venezuela juicy deals. You draw your own conclusions.

El Clarin just reported the press issue of ENARSA. There all the names of ENARSA directors in that flight are confirmed, as well as the petition from PDVSA to give a "lift" to Buenos Aires to five of its employees. The Argentineans accepted. One of the Venezuelans was Antonini Wilson of no specificied rank or title within PDVSA.

The impossibility of it all

Now, that does not mean of course that Uberti is a corrupt accomplice, or if he was just taken in by his good faith as PDVSA crooks might have hoped that, just as it happens in Venezuela, high officials are sort of exempted from custom controls. Unfortunately Argentina being significantly more orderly and civilized than bolibanana Venezuela, I can imagine the face of Antonini when the directors of ENARSA, even coming through a private flight, checked through customs. That is how the 800 K were caught.

Now, without going further, the presumption of fraud and delinquency committed in Venezuela is already enormous, even if Wilson was, well, only holding the bag.

In Venezuela there is a severe currency exchange control. NO VENEZUELAN can buy dollars without the consent of the government through its currency control agency, CADIVI. Any import that you make must be approved by CADIVI if you want to be able to pay your provider at the official currency rate. Otherwise you must go to the parallel market, at twice the bolivar value. In other words, getting an 800 000 cash transaction is already rather difficult.

In fact it is even more difficult than what you think. Any Venezuelan that travels overseas has the right to ONLY 600 USD a year, plus a few thousands THROUGH approved credit cards. In other words, ANY VENEZUELAN carrying more than 600 USD in cash must have some special permit from the government.

But it is even worse than what you think. If this blogger must travel and ask for his 600 in cash to pay for cab fees, a cup of coffee and such stuff, he must present his plane ticket and his CADIVI permit to his bank. Then the bank processes it and will call this blogger after about a week. This blogger then has at most 72 hours to go and withdraw his cash. If he does not do so, the cash is returned to the Central Bank and that is that. In other words: Venezuelan private banks do not carry significant amounts of foreign cash at their agencies. At most a few thousands for their daily needs. That is, NO VENEZUELAN BANK is likely to have at any given time 800 000 in its vaults unless there is some very special arrangement between the Central Bank, the private bank and the government for a given purpose.

What Antonini Wilson was carrying was the cash allotment of 1,333 Venezuelans (1,333 X 600 = 800 000). Clearly, it was not the case of 1,333 PDVSA employees pooling together their resources to go on a Buenos Aires vacation.........

Conclusion

In Venezuela today there are only two ways to have 800 000 in cash. It is either

1) some drug trafficking (difficult as most Venezuelans would be paying in VEB rather than dollars: where would they get the dollars for their fixes, at CADIVI?)

2) some governmental direct action. In such case it would be very easy for PDVSA to emit a communique explaining the "incident". No such communique has been issued.

Thus we are left with only one other explanation that makes sense: through governmental complicity someone in the government (not necessarily PDVSA, Antonini might just be the bag boy) has managed to get from the Central Bank (or PDVSA, the only guys that could perhaps be managing such cash sums though by law they are supposed to give ANY USD they get o the Central bank) the 800 000 in cash. The motive will apparently be obscure (if it were legit we would already know about it). The motives could be anything from financing the electoral campaign of Cristina Kirchner (she better watch out!) to simply stashing away some cash by some PDVSA director that wants to invest corruption money in Argentina. I personally think that it was for political purposes during Chavez visit. Or for Cristina.

And speaking of Chavez? What is he saying to all this? "Media manipulation" "Bush/Empire intervention" "the private media is th worst problem in the world" and what not, leaving Chomsky far behind. But is he ordering a thorough investigation? NO! In fact considering the recent revelations at how corrupt and inefficient PDVSA has become I doubt very much that any investigation will be launched. The regime could collapse as some are murmuring that the total stolen monies could be several billions dollars ( a number of 7 is advanced even).


-The end-

Oops! That would be "guilty" your honor!

2007 was an "annus horribilis" for Chavez. So far 2008 is not bringing any improvement.

Today the "800 000 bucks bag of money" case came bag to the front scene with a vengeance. One of the Miami 4, Maionica, decided to switch his plea to "Guilty" and become a prosecution witness. He acknowledges that all the secretly recorded tapes are legitimate and that he was an agent of the Venezuelan government in order to cover up the money sent by Chavez to finance Cristina Kirchner electoral campaign.

Now a boatload of folks must be running for cover in Caracas and Buenos Aires. Watching the face of Nicolas Maduro, our failed metrobus driver turned foreign minister, accusing the US judicial system to be a farce and of submitting Maionica to unbearable pressure was a tragic poem. Not only Maduro has been watching too many bad movies, but he is unable to comprehend that Maionica as a lawyer probably understood that making a deal with the Miami prosecutor was his best way out. He will get off with a slight sentence and get a US resident visa to cooperate with the US justice. From Miami, perhaps working at some MacDonald, he will be able to wait the end of Chavez and come back to Venezuela to resume business, perhaps sooner than expected. (1)

Let's not extend on something that we have all discussed extensively in this blog and its comments. The only difference today is that the Maionica confession makes it official that Chavez is financing all sorts of illegal political activities everywhere, in amounts that make any NED donation to SUMATE a child's game. In fact, chavista paid agents like Eva Golinger must be worrying about their eventual return to the US as surely the IRS must have noticed their recent prosperity on account of dishing the US. It is Al Capone again, the bolibana version. Of course, the ridicule and bad karma/conscience that awaits these people might even be much worse than any IRS citation.

Instead let's talk about he possible consequences.

In Buenos Aires this time the Casa Rosada was keeping, at this typing, a sinister silence. Gone where the early December days when newly sworn Lady K. was calling the US judicial system garbage. Now, her government might be in jeopardy as it is gravely wounded within its first month in office. It is to be noted that for much less than the Antonini money bag affair many a post war Italian government fell.

In Venezuela Chavez has little to fear. After all the judicial system is now inexistent and certainly not about to investigate Chavez on anything. No matter what the trials of Miami in the coming months might reveal, we can be assured that the most that will happen will be a delightfully botched operation such as the one on the Danilo Anderson assassination. That one lead to nowhere, though ensuring that at least a few political opponents were put in trouble for nothing, one still in exile. No, even if there were to be a judge willing to take on Chavez, or at least his corrupt camarilla, even if the other 3 in Miami were to plead guilty now and start talking, Chavez has much worse problems than Antonini to face anyway.

Because the HMS-Chavez seems to make water from all sides these days.

First, at least for Chavez, his foreign policy front, the only aspect of his rule that he really cares about, is collapsing right and left. Certainly the Antonini affair is not going to help him at all since now many governments will have perfect excuses to monitor Venezuela agents in their country and even deny them entry. But the FARC fiasco keeps bringing more grief. After his triumphant tour of Europe, with soaring polls at home, this week Uribe received nothing less than admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and today the Secretary of State. The implication is extremely clear, and grave for Venezuela: if Chavez does not start behaving better, he is going to run into major trouble. We can hope that at least the Venezuelan armed forces will have gotten the message that any move against Colombia will find the US firmly behind them. We can hope that they will make sure that no matter how many insults Chavez keeps sending to Bogota, the situation will not go past insults. By the way, Bogota refuses to reply to Chavez which only seems to send him into further paroxysms.

But if grave matters like Colombia are besotting Chavez, other players area taking advantage to plant in his back further "banderillas". Alan Gracia in Peru is not missing a chance, timing his granting exile residency to my ex-governor Lapi. Not been on the run anymore, from Peru Lapi will be able to play a role in the coming November elections. Under a very amused Garcia watch.

But it gets worse for Chavez. His polls are now reaching levels not seen since 2002. The psychological effect of the December 2 rout (by the way, the CNE STILL HAS NOT RELEASED THE FINAL VOTING RESULTS!!!) seems to have been hit harder than expected. Coupled with an increasingly graver food shortage situation, it is not surprising that the Teflon effect of Chavez is finally over and that after 9 years in office people are finally starting to wonder if the current bad situation might not have something to do with Chavez incompetence. His or his people, same difference.

But to crown this already awful week, we were shown the latest shopping spree of Chavez to stack up the shelves in Venezuela. In a hurry, where do you get rice, black beans and cooking oil? In the Evil Empire, of course! That very same empire that Chavez constantly criticizes and accuses of preparing itself to invade us at any second. The bag handed out by PDVSA to frustrated shoppers had even an large US flag on its bag of rice! Will wonders ever cease?

The opposition needs not to do anything: these days sitting back and watching chavismo melt down is a fantastic experience.

1) Maduro also took it upon himself to criticize the Globovision journalists from being anti bolivarian, a traitor and what not, urging her to join the noble cause of bolivarianism, to unify in the defense of the fatherland. Or some such garbage. When a foreign minister lowers himself so much it becomes embarrassing even for people opposing him.

-The end-

And let us not forget of bags full of money

While Christmas is taking more of my time and I am preparing my last posts for the year, I wanted to make a small parenthesis to visit the Antonini Maletagate case. Not for any new revelation that will shatter the innocence of the reader, no, not at all. But to point out to some curious phenomenon: the "any excuses is valid" syndrome for the eternal apologists of Chavez and his friends, currently the Kirchner couple who everyday looks more like the peronista family capo di mafia that peronismo in the end keeps proving to be.

Today the Washington Post has an article on the whole thing. The article will not tell you anything new. Thinking minds now know that Chavez has been financing the Kirchner campaign (and Correa, and Ortega, and Humala, and Evo and Lula -though maybe indirectly courtesy to the huge contracts to Brazilian engineering companies- , and X Y and Z). Chavez has a fat check book and he has demonstrated how to buy "friends" with it. The 800 K suit case (and other loaded cases now) has only brought us the proof. We all know that only Venezuelan justice could do anything against Chavez and we all know that it will never do anything against Chavez. On this regard in Venezuela we can only take a seat, relax and enjoy the show of watching Chavez making a total ass of himself defending what cannot be defended while his international standing keeps sinking.

No, what is interesting in that Post article are the comments, at least the first dozen of them: all defenders of Kirchner, all conspiracy theory supporters implying that Antonini was on the payroll of the CIA FBI BUSH. They cannot be that stupid. Or can they? If the CIA FBI BUSH links go so deep inside PDVSA to allow for example Antonini to get a seat in that fateful plane from the hands of high ranking Venezuelan and Argentinean officials, then how come no more juicy scandal has been uncovered? How come no more visible marks of corruption have been unveiled? And let's push it further: how come the Kirchners and Chavez are still in office if the CIA FBI BUSH can put moles at such high levels?

No, the only thing I can think to explain these comments (and those of journalists and officials that should know better) is despair at trying to hide the stinking pot. You can hide it but there is not enough Glade to cover the smell, no matter how many hired pen Chavez and the Kirchners can find. It blew on their nose due to their own stupidity. Had they fired the right amount of people in August 2007 they would not be today in the mess they are at. But see, for Chavez after 9 years of doing what he wanted, for the Kirchners who learned from Chavez the talk to do pretty much as they wanted in Argentina, it must be a rude awakening to realize that you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. No matter how many paid or not sycophants grace the comment section of the Washington Post where they try to dodge all of the damming facts brought for by Monte Reel.


-The end-

Organized crime in Venezuela administration

While my Internet connection suffered some problems, scandals to report kept accumulating. The big one of course is the arrest of some of the original accomplices of Guido Antonini, the man of the 800 000 USD suitcase. Remember? Early August? Wee hours? Buenos Aires Airport? A private flight with Argentinean and Venezuelan officials? And a carry on case full of cash?

Well, the FBI and associates kept investigating and early this week they arrested some of the associates of Antonini. I will not go back on that since it is old news for the readers. The news has shifted now and we got the first reaction form one of the bosses of the involved parties: Cristina Kirchner, freshly inaugurated president of her country and who got enough this week to kill her honeymoon period. As seen on TV, she was pissed, making the worst outbursts of Hillary seem like those of a sweet lady. But see, Cristina has the fine art of Argentinean arrogance so for bitchy retorts, no one holds a candle to her. Even when all the fingers point at that money as having been destined to finance her electoral campaign.

So, what was the very original reply of Crisitna? That it was a garbage plot to sabotage her administration by US agencies. Then again there is that, and she did not address it at all. Maybe she did not read it? Not for her the minutiae of justice following an administration whose redolence of corruption is still far from the stench of the Caracas continental size corruption. Because let's us not kid ourselves, if Argentina justice is definitively a notch above the Venezuelan one (they did catch the carry on, did they?) it is still far from the basic standards of the US system when money and IRS are involved. Crisitna might want to wiggle that one out with high heels and hair flying in the breeze, she would be well advised to sacrifice whomever she needs to sacrifice. But her reappointing Nestor's cabinet tells us that it will be business as usual in Casa Rosada and thus the quality of politics in Argentina are not going to improve a bit in the coming years.

But of course what is much more interesting here is that the picture of how Chavez finances political friends is now becoming quite clear for all of those who tried to ignore it. I mean, we ALL knew, even if too many pretended not to know, that it was goign on but many of us did not know how blunt was the meddling of Venezuela in some parts of the world, nor how much money was so directly spent. The carry on case full of money form Venezuela has already been seen in Panama, in Miami and in Bolivia. We can assume that for every case caught, there must be at the very least 10 that went through. Did you know that with the 800 000 of Antonini alone, at least 16 modest but solid and complete homes for the poor could have been built, roads and all services? As much as 8 tons of milk could have been bought, attending the monthly needs of at least 100 000 poor Venezuelans?

But in Venezuela, from were Crisitna got her cue of course, it is all a big media manipulation, a show from US agencies. “U.S. propagandistic trash" were the words used by Lara. But then again the recent campaign has demonstrated that the communications minister has run put of ideas and is left to scatological expression to justify Chavez misrule.

All evidence points out that Chavez will keep giving money around to promote his glory, not the welfare of the Venezuelan people. The latest was the gift of 4.5 million dollars to build a stadium in Bolivia. Yes, that is right, as the works for the Venezuelan stadiums is not completed yet (and probably will never be unless some tournament comes this way) Chavez is building elsewhere. I suppose that a stadium in Oruro will ensure that the opposition to Morales in Bolivia will quiet down, dazzled, and go watch soccer........ no word of fresh milk coming back on the shelves....

Meanwhile if any one had any hope that corruption would abate some during the last 5 years of the Chavez administration, think again. Yesterday the National Assembly, out of the law and the constitution as usual, returned in office for another 7 years Clodosvaldo Russian, the man that was in charge on watching over the moneys of the state. In his "distinguished" tenure he managed to skewer some opposition characters on some very minor administrative charges. Leopoldo Lopez is the best example. The mayor of Chacao will not be able to run for office for about a decade because he shifted some budgets funds in order to pay Chacao workers. (Note: not to his pocket, to pay town hall workers). Meanwhile, Kaufman now in jail awaiting bail in Florida, will be able to run for any elected office if he chooses to do so. Clodosvaldo I am sure will not do anything against him as he has not done anything about all the major corruption cases of Venezuela. In fact, one of the few presentable chavistas, but insignificant ones, such as Mari Pili Hernandez have been found guilty by the office of Clodo. I suppose he needed a token chavista to justify his persecution of any opposition figure Clodo is told to attack.

And so we have the clear picture of how the mafia runs the Venezuelan government. NOT A SINGLE VENEZUELAN ISNTITUION is seriously investigating the Miami 4, as they are too busy protecting themselves from future pursuits or scandals, and making sure Chavez keeps spreading corruption, moral and financial, all over Latin America. Of coruse, the capo in the show is Chaevz who at this time can only plead insanity, a plea for which dossier these past few weeks Chavez has greatly contributed.

-The end-

Questions on the Maletagate: when Venezuelan nationals get rides with 800 000 in cash

The unraveling of the suitcase full of cash caught in Buenos Aires keeps its breathtaking advance. That is, thanks to Argentina media mostly as here in Venezuela only today finally the government must have realized that they could not keep dodging the bullet for that long.

I am going to spare the reader about the wishy washy reactions of the Venezuela government. Apparently they have been pushed enough by the public opinion (even die hard chavistas can visualize a carry on bag with enough stash in it that it takes one hour to count it). They have been pushed by the Argentinian government that wants to deflect the story A.S.A.P. before the Cristina campaign tanks out. And pushed by the very hated media of course. Pushed by that media (though many have a very low profile, not wanting to antagonize Chavez) the PDVSA head, Ramirez, talked again of media lynching of PDVSA, instead of giving the answers expected from him.

Instead I would like to list a series of questions which probably will hint better at the depth of the problem than any explanation I could come up with. None of it is particularly damaging per se, but take together a few and you will start wondering quickly. and in no particular order.

Why has Ramirez waited until today for his first lame declaration? In a normal country where there is rule of law, and accounting, someone like Ramirez would have suspended immediately his employees until investigation is concluded. Here, nothing, only media lynching according to the morally dubious Ramirez.

Where are these employees? Are they declaring anything anywhere? Why did they go to Argentina? Did they have a leave of absence or a justified work mission?

Why was the Argentinean Claudio Uberti fired so fast? After all, he was not the one carrying the money bag. Why was NOT fired the ENRASA director who after all was supposedly the highest ranking person in that plane? Who was the real boss on that plane?

Speaking of ENARSA. Why did it rent a flight for only three passengers when sending them first class through commercial flights would have been much cheaper? What business did they do in Caracas that deserved such treatment? How often do such trips take place?

And speaking of frequency. Why does Antonini, the carry on guy, travel so often to Argentina, which such briefs stays? Apparently many of his recent travels lasted less than 24 hours: just dropping a bag? Why is he based in Miami with a 1 million dollar house in some cay? Does his line of business and his connection with PDVSA justify him getting a lift? Aren't there direct flights to Argentina from Miami? If he has a million bucks house and carries 800 000 in cash, can he not afford executive class in commerical flights instead of hitch hiking from Caracas? Why did he leave for Uruguay following as fast as possible the presidential train of Chavez: if he followed it, but why else would he go to Montevideo? Where is he right now? Why does he not seem so worried about he 400 000 he could still recover by just answering a few fair questions? If he is not worried about 400 000 in cash, then why the hitch hiking?

And why did Antonini gave a business address to customs officials instead of a hotel address while in Argentina? Was he planning to at least spend the night? And why did the son of a PDVSA big wig also gave the same address? What about the business links of Antonini? they range, as far as we know, from weapon dealing to all sorts of strange companies that seem to be just fronts.

And why all eventually comes back to PDVSA and all the Venezuela/Argentina sweet deals, well, sweet deals for some anyway?

Finally, does anyone believe for a second that the CIA could be behind, and even less handle, such a crappy show?


-The end-

All is crumbling and what is Chavez doing?

He is in Argentina visiting his partners in crime the Kirchners.  There he accuses the press of Latin America to be right wing and supporting the interests of the Empire, and he accuses Antonini to be a CIA spy.  No evidence whatsoever is offered but we know the jackasses that support him need no evidence whatsoever.  The press is reporting bad news on Venezuela?  They are liars who do the USA bidding!  What happened to the investigation of Antonini and the 800,000 in cash he carried in his suitcase?  He was an agent of the CIA so we need not worry about him! Voilà!

We can even speculate on a future exchange: What about the 5.8% first quarter drop?  Good! It takes us away from capitalism!  ( Am I really speculating on this last one?  Eljuri of the INE state statistics said on TV that the 5.8% drop was a consequence of the naughty world crisis, without bothering mentioning that Venezuela is THE ONLY country still sinking in LatAm as all the others are breaking even or growing again.  He also accused the stockbrokers without pondering the effect of a devaluation and electricity shortages.  People like Eljuri cannot be invented, they just happen!).

Is there a state left in Venezuela?

When I look at what has happened today in Venezuela, in a single day, I wonder if there is a state left in Venezuela. There is also the option to think that Venezuela has become a failed state and we are about to become aware of that.

Let's start with the latest one. We just learned on TV that the grand daughter of ex-president Leoni has been found murdered in her apartment, possibly with her youngest child having witnessed it all, her mother near death next, both stabbed several times. The murder, by the way is in her Santa Paula apartment, a few blocks away from where I stay when I visit Caracas. A middle class neighborhood. What is the difference between Lorena and, say, any of the Chavez bothers? She had a small apartment in Caracas, he has large estates in Barinas. She had no body guard, he has all the body guards he can think of, taken away from the police corps, and thus away from the streets where they should be busy protecting the common citizen from crime, such as Lorena Moreno Leoni. Lorena is the grand daughter of a president that did not get rich while in office. She and her siblings have had to work all their lives for whatever they had as their grand parents left them only the family home. Another ex-president who died a simple man was Herrera Campins whom his friends had to help with his final medical expenses. The Chavez clan has become in ten years filthy rich, and let's not start with all the associates of the regime...

Or rather, let's start with these associates as the Miami trial is finally over and Franklin Duran has been declared guilty. Guilty as in guilty of being an undeclared agent of the Venezuelan government in the US. That is all, but it is much, much more than what it seems.

• It means that indeed Chavez regime is dispatching people to the US to commit actions that at the very least fail to meet the ethical label. In other words, Chavez agents in the US are up to no good, the more so when they are not registered.
• It means that the evidence presented at the trial demonstrates that the jury believed that corruption in Venezuela was at the root of sending such illegal agents. NOTE: the jury could not emit its opinion on corruption per se but the defense could not prove that the actions of Duran where not motivated by trying to cover up corruption in Venezuela.
• It means that the jury accepted that Venezuelan corruption is spilling over the US and as such should be stopped.

What are the implications?

Venezuelan government now cannot pretend the 800,000 dollars in the suit case just happened to be there. In fact, today, Antonini now free of the trial constraints talked in public for the first time, on CNN nothing less, to say that the money in the bag was for Cristina Kirchner campaign. Cristina and Hugo can chose to ignore Antonini declarations but the rest of Latin America who watched CNN "en español" now can wonder about the corruption in both countries (and in theirs if they are associated in any way with the bolivarian mafia). Well, they are not wondering, of course, as Argentina and Venezuela are considered quite corrupt even by our very lax Latin standards. No, they are going to wonder if these two crooks are going to do something about it. They will not have much of a choice anyway as in Argentina already the opposition is getting ready to cash in.

But in Venezuela, instead of investigating the huge corruption scandal of giving money to foreign campaigns, the Venezuelan mafia in charge uses law artifacts to remove one by one any opponent that looks to win at the coming polls. Yesterday it was Lopez, Mendoza and others. Today it was Lapi's turn. Tomorrow expect Salas Feo, Capriles and Rosales. That is the only way that chavismo can win an election, remove those who are running against them.

And while all of this took place, while European Human Rights observers were barred form doing their job, while Lech Walesa was "convinced" not to come to Venezuela, Chavez appealed to the racial card to try to get a date with Barak Obama. The Spanish original carries better the idea that Obama is black, like us. Chaevz simple assumes that Obama is misinformed. A little bit more and Obama is XXI centruy socialism Uncle Tom, if Chavez knew of that image.

Can there be a state in a country where the president behaves in such ways, say such things, jail or bars whoever he wants? Can there be a state when the daughter of an ex president is fighting for her life because somebody stabbed her in her home while the same state gives away 16, SIXTEEN, luxury 4 wheel drive, armored vehicles to make sure that Evo Morales is not going to get mugged in La Paz streets?

There is only one explanation to make sense of all of this: Chavez plays deliberately at the destruction of the state, an encumbrance that blocks him from enjoying his loot.

-The end-

No light in the attic: unenlightened chavismo and a lightless Venezuela

The news today is yet again another massive blackout in Venezuela. It is not clear how much of the country was cut off as amazingly government seems to be clueless. But I can say that San Felipe was more than 3 hours without electricity, some areas of Caracas are still not back up on the grid and Valencia was wiped out, hospitals only starting to get back some service around 5 PM. Maybe Gustav was bearing down on Louisiana but hurricane Hugo keeps in its never ending quest to destroy Venezuela.

Though I felt for those trapped in Caracas overburdened subway today, this massive blackout was a good opportunity to think about a few things and get back into posting mood. There was this very nice article by Roger Santodomingo this morning in Tal Cual, which I could read before the computers went out (here, for those without a subscription). The topic was the censorship that Maripili Hernandez imposes at Canal I. Some background is needed.

Maripili Hernandez is one of those chavistas that are presentable. She can say several full sentences in a row without being improper, something that Chavez himself is unable to do. She does have some knowledge of the world and some professional dedication, though in her case it does not seem to be very productive. She was on board with Chavez from the start but somehow never quite made it up to the inner circle. Or was dropped form it. Whatever. She was briefly foreign minister for North America, about the only chavista that could be sent there. On many an occasion I had the opportunity to expose her in this blog, in particular in such a stellar moment as her patriotic histrionics. Gustavo Coronel has also told her down.

But apparently she did something improper as she is the only chavista of some weight that was also inhabilitada by Clodosvaldo, that is, barred from seeking political office without a trial. But that is not big deal for her: she obviously is not into electoral politics and besides now she has her own TV network, Canal I.

Canal I was inaugurated over a year ago by one of those chavista groups that made millions in half a decade of chavista rule (William Ruperti is the face). It is meant to be the counter weight of Globovision but, well, it is having trouble as it is just too obviously pro Chavez, not to mention far from the professional standards of Globovision or even Venevision (heck, not even a working web page!). I did try to watch it a few times, hoping that perhaps I would get a more palatable point of view of chavismo ideas. But quickly I realized that I was better off reading directly Aporrea or watching Alo Presidente on Sundays.

At any rate, Ruperti did hire Maripili to direct the new network. That was a gamble form the start as Maripili presided over the downgrading of VTV early in Chavez term. I think, in her discharge, that she did not agree with the 24/24 propaganda nature of VTV and found a way out. But her tenure was considered a failure and her jobs hereafter were in the great chavista tradition of mediocrity and incompetence. Then again, if Ruperti did not want to get into trouble with Canal I, hiring Maripli was a good move I suppose.

So Roger Santodomingo narrates in his article today how Maripili fired one of her journalists, Mairim Unamo, because she wanted to do a piece on the Antonini trial starting in Miami this week, as Miguel is following closely. That is right, Maripili Hernandez, once a defender of free speech is now your ordinary censor once her political side is threatened by an exploding scandal which revelations would undo any normal government. It will not undo this one because well, there is justice in the US but not in Venezuela.

This poses once again several questions. One, is what are chavistas thinking? How long can they pretend that what is happening in Miami is just a media conspiracy? That the 800 000 USD bag did not exist, or was just Antonini pocket money for his Argentina vacation? There is a point where you can legitimately start wondering about the mental capacity of these people such as Maripili who in a previous life had still some self respect. Now, the more the ship sinks the more willing they are to sink with it it, or so it seems.

But the answer to this first question can come from the second question: what is their concept of democracy? We have already seen that often: for chavista hard core defenders the only democratic credential chavismo, and Chavez, need is to win elections. The more often they win them, the more they are allowed to trample minority rights. That when they were a minority their rights were not that trampled, witness of it that eventually they came to power, does not seem to cross their feeble minds.

But what can you expect from true understudies like Maripli when her real boss this week attacked the opposition once again in a totally undemocratic way? Apparently Chavez was sore because the opposition is collecting signatures to protest the 26 laws from the enabling law and to send that to the OAS (I signed, by the way, did you?). Why is the opposition sending that to the OAS? Because there is no justice in Venezuela and because the High Court already approved some of these laws BEFORE they were known by the public in general, or a legitimate debate took place in the country.

So a very miffed Chavez replied to the folks gathering the petition that they were ridiculous and that what he should do is to ask for a new enabling law and stick to them 26 more decree laws. That is right, he just spoke like the neighborhood thug he is ("clavarle", with a sexual connotation), imposing his will and only interested in finding ways to screw his opponents and control his turf. HIS, is the operative word here. Not an ounce of democratic talent here. So, why should we expect democratic talent from Maripili?

But they are not making good progress. For all the efforts to ignore the Maletin, for all the self-censorship we saw for too long in the Venezuelan media (with the notable exception of Globovision and some bloggers who never forgot the issue), we are seeing again articles on the coming up trial making it to the front pages. Maripili might have fired Mairim but it might not be enough to save some of her superiors. Then again, we could ask a third question: is she able to understand what is going on in the country? I doubt it, the light in those attics was shuffled long before the country went blank today.

-The end-

Corruption in Venezuela and Argentina: the media role

The "maletagate" scandal keeps going apace. Each time I am trying to get some update, new elements arrive that stop me from writing more on it. Thus, considering that I am too busy to post the 20 links I should be posting, I will instead limit myself tonight to a general observation: the scandal in Argentina is having results in governmental actions because the press and the media there are much more lively than in Venezuela. In fact, many observers are slowly converging on that scary notion: Chavez has been so successful in castrating the media and the press in Venezuela that we had to wait for such a major scandal to observe how self censored the media is in Venezuela.

In Argentina from the major newspapers to the media, with the provision that there is also an electoral campaign going on, there has been a general desire to examine this affair of the 800 000 USD. All want to know why, how, how often such entries of cash happen in Argentina.

It is important to note that the Kirchner administration, as a good old fashioned Peronist ersatz, deals with the press in hardly better terms than Chavez. However Kirchner has not been as diligent at silencing the press and the media as Chavez has been. Perhaps it is due to a tough journalism corporation who had to survive the awful dictatorships that came and went in Argentina. Perhaps it is due to a better general level of education of Argentinean citizens. Perhaps it is due to a genuine basic respect on freedom of information. Whatever it is, the Argentina media have managed to put enough pressure on the Kirchner administration and have forced him to investigate and take sanctions. Oh! Not as much as some would have liked to: for example it seems that there is some difficulty in finding a judge who is willing to take over the case, a difficulty rumored to be due on strong governmental pressure as a swift and benign decision is wished for before the Cristina Kirchner campaign goes South, literally...

But when the chips are down, one minister assistant is out, one minister is in trouble, an arrest warrant for Antonini is issued and more is expected to be unveiled (not to mention that Argentina is demanding answers to Venezuela). In fact, we, in Venezuela, are learning a lot of things about our own affairs through Argentinean or Uruguayan journalists investigations. The Fourth Power is working there.

But in Venezuela there is only some provincial newspapers, Globovision, El Universal , El Nacional and mostly Tal Cual that are on top of it. Chavismo media (dozens of radio stations and TV) are ignoring the affair of if they allude to it is to denounce the whole thing as an imperialist plot, the standard fare for ANYTHING that goes wrong in Venezuela. The alleged "independent" media, from Ultimas Noticias to Televen or Venevision, barely touch the subject, if at all. In fact some commentators are even wondering whether the affair is dealt with at all in Venezuela just because of the fuzz in Argentina.

I have to admit that I agree with these observations, the bulk of the media has stopped any strong criticism, and investigative work in depth such as we see in Argentina. In fact most of the investigative stuff we watch or read is usually mediocre. Self censorship? "Give up" syndrome?

Or is it a general sensation in the country, a resignation to the Chavez imposition? People just cannot be bothered, too involved in a daily life each day more and more time consuming with road traffic, difficulty in finding supplies and services, a sense of nothing can be done about it anyway so why bother.

Or perhaps even worse, the Gag Law, the modification of the penal code, the subservience of the judicial power to chavismo, the violence against journalists, the constant stonewalling of any public servant have finally taken their toll, have finally made the press to self censor. Has Chavez managed to eliminate the freedom of information in Venezuela? Is freedom of expression still a reality in Venezuela, or is it reserved to a small group of individuals that do care? Has the high oil price and the slow percolating of part of it (what is not stolen by the Antoninis and Kirchners of the world) manage to remove a social conscience from Venezuelans?

We will see. But if some awakening does not happen after such a scandal at home, then we will only get what we deserve when Chavez changes the constitution soon. Moral eunuchs always have it coming.

-The end-

Las viudas de Berlín

Hoy celebramos la libertad del pueblo alemán, el día cuando cayeron los primeros pedazos del muro de Berlín, el infame muro que separó las democracias occidentales de la tiranía comunista. Que los resultados no hayan sido todos los esperados no es el punto: nadie discute que Europa y el mundo no hayan mejorado en estos últimos 25 años. Pero si Europa es más rica y prospera que en ningún momento de su historia, pese a una crisis coyuntural que afecta a algunos, no todos se han podido librar todavía del yugo comunista, yugo que ha adquirido otros nombres pero que sigue teniendo el mismo objetivo final.

Sunday press review: the sweet rewards of sucking up to Chavez

In a felicitous coincidence El Nacional this Sunday published several OpEd and articles that illustrate the advantages of being a Chavez supporter in Venezuela, as well as the moral decrepitude that one surrenders when accepting such favors.

Before I get started with as brief as possible a review, I would like to point out that there is nothing new under the Venezuelan sun, that those associated with power have always benefited from the tendency of the petrostate governments to reward its followers with the easy money that gushes from under our feet. It is just that under Chavez we are struck at the proportion of the consciences bought out and the "desparpajo" (chutzpah?) at which it is undertaken. Let's start by remembering the Tascon List, amply documented on the right side of this blog, in the link section. This Tascon list became a CD, the Maisanta program which was amply used by Chavez supporters to secure the benefits from the state. With this any state employer (business or public administration, same difference) has since 2004 decided who to hire and who to fire, adding to the political apartheid of the Tascon list an economical apartheid.

Now there is a study to show the effects of such discrimination, at tax payer expenses, a burden that is disproportionately shared by those who oppose Chavez, who foot most of the tax bill that is spread to Chavez supporters just because they are supporters, not because they are any more productive or deserving. This study deserved a wide coverage in El Nacional Sunday (by subscription but I lifted the article in Spanish here), adequately titled "there is a price to be paid for belonging to the opposition". Before I get into the subject, let's not be naive: proximity to power has always meant some benefit, even in the fairest European social democracies. It is just that under Chavez a normal granting of a few favors has become a state policy.

The study was done by the a team led by Francisco Rodriguez, a Venezuelan who became a researcher in the US after having tried to work seriously with the "revolution" halcyon days. Now he is busy exposing the truth about what happens in Venezuela, debunking the shoddy work of propagandists such as Weisbrot. You can find a list of his work in his site. It is serious work, and is causing quite some grief among the sycophantic crowd that surrounds Chavez. It is most welcome as a serious work that goes beyond propaganda, the type of work that has been sorely needed as we cannot stay all our lives in the bitching mode only.

In this study, using the Maisanta database to check public records such as register and tax offices, it is not too difficult to follow the economic fortunes of some who have money or stable jobs and see how their career evolved during the past few years. I am not going to go into details because as it turns out Quico beat me shortly in discussing it as yesterday I was too busy to post on this El Nacional articles. However I will below just put up the results as in the graphs from El Nacional because those are what Venezuelans will see and because the Rodriguez paper is in PDF and I have no time to "take" the pictures. Click on pics below to enlarge. The pictures do not need much more comment besides the legends I attached to them. For details refer to the Francisco Rodriguez paper which is in English and from where these graphs come from.

The first one is how public sector and business associated with chavismo (banks? Wilmer Ruperti? the Antonini gang?) wages did better than the traditional private sector business.


The second one confirms that the easiest way to access riches in Venezuela is to be a chavista and apply for a public sector job.

And this last picture is the expected consequence of patronage policies: productivity in the public sector reaches new lows. It is not idle to note that this un-productivity is in large part paid by the taxes exacted from the private sector which is audited much more often than pro Chavez business, who in addition get much better access to loans and CADIVI currency. In other word, the lack of competitiveness of the chavista private sector is subsidized by the state! I stress taxes because they are the bulk of the national budget: a lot of the oil income is discretionary spending of Chavez, including his gifts to foreign countries.

To conclude this post El Nacional carried three other illustrative item which I add below.

There is a great interview of Alexis Alzuru from the UCV. He investigates how corruption affects public policies. He is not afraid to state that the Venezuelan state is deliberately transformed into a mob system to be able to control better the citizens. Of course, nothing that regular readers of this blog did not already know, but it is nice to see it so clearly stated as in this interview. A must read! (check back later for a partial translation, if time allows, meanwhile use Google translating tool which works reasonably well).

The moral consequences for the country are painted by Milagros Socorro who examines the educational objectives of the country and the example set by naming Isaias Rodriguez to the TSJ so that he can escape judicial inquiry for his misdeeds.

And finally there is a lovely piece by Pedro Llorens from which I retain the description of Chavez charlatanism. He looks at the lies of Chavez as to the freedom of the press as Chavez has built a communications empire as none can be seen in the rest of the Americas. The quote I liked:

El gastado y aburrido predicador de las cuatro raíces: fascismo, bolivarianismo, populismo y fidelismo, decidido a no creer nada de lo que se dice o denuncia, alcahuetea la terrofagia de los Chávez en Barinas, hace investigar al diputado regional que los acusa, repone en los puestos de mando a los derrotados del PSUV y libra a Isaías Rodríguez, acusado de manipular el caso Anderson.

I put it in Spanish first because it is so sabroso!

The spent and tiresome preacher of the four roots: fascism, bolivarianism, populism and fidelism, set on not believing anythign that is said or denounced, enabler of the excessive land appetite of the Chavez in Barinas, has the regional representative that accuse them investigated, puts back in charge those who were beaten in the PSUV [internal elections] and saves Isaias Rodriguez, accused of manipulation of the Anderson Case.

There you have in a single paragraph all the moral damage done to the country by Chavez, where his favoritism and his primitivism have led us.


-The end-

In Argentina the Kirchners seem on their way out

With all the fuss about Honduras I did not get around to write on the other important event of the day: the Kirchners lost their automatic majority in congress yesterday. Argentina where institutions still work up to a point, even a divided opposition was able to gain a parliamentary majority, and a sweet prize, personally defeating Nestor Kirchner list who made it second in Buenos Aires! As I type I learn that he even resigned as the leader of Justicialismo.

I remember when a freshly inaugurated Kirchner traveled to Caracas in February 2004 and duly upset by Chavez repression received the Venezuelan opposition at the Argentina embassy. Since then he allowed himself to be influenced by Chavez petrodollars, became arrogant and corrupt, in case you already forgot the Antonini suitcase... But apparently Argentineans are still able to control the guy before he looks to Chavez like, even if he uses his wife as a decoy, pimp like.

Score another blow to Chavez continental strategy.

-The end-

The murine judicial system of Venezuela: Aponte Aponte fesses up to Chavez dictating sentences

Preoccupied with some health issues of close relatives I missed tonight's confession of Aponte Aponte, the fired judge of Chavez now talking back to his ex-master(S). But it does not really matter: to summarize it, he is just confirming what we have known all along, that important judicial decisions are not decided by courts but by political hacks at Miraflores palace, when not Chavez himself. And this at regular Friday meeting at the vice president's offices.  You can see it below if you wish and understand Spanish and care for the gory details.


Entrevista completa a exmagistrado Aponte Aponte... por Globovision

The real questions are elsewhere, since he merely confirms what we all knew/suspected.

Meanwhile, back in Miami....

[UPDATED]
Just to remind you of the "maletagate" trial in Miami that Miguel is covering in loving detail.

While you read all the juicy details on how corruption works and how the new boliburguesia has been happily sacking the country you can wonder how come the only government of the three that pretends not to be officially concerned is the guiltiest one, the Chavez administration. As far as they are concerned it is just yet another media manipulation. Now, that argument could have at shred of verisimilitude if the Venezuelan government on occasion would nail someone from its ranks for corruption. But we know from 10, TEN, years of experience, that the worst that happens to corrupt chavista officials is that they disappear from the public eye, or even get an embassy somewhere to enjoy their loot away from scrutiny. Heck, EVEN in Argentina on occasion someone goes to jail for corruption!

But then maybe I have it all wrong and what we should think about is how effective it is to use a checkbook freely to control and vilify a country. Because make no mistake, the Miami trial on chavismo abjection is not causing much of a stir in Venezuela´s masses: people here seem more interested in finding ways to get their share of the loot than pursuing criminals. Maybe Chavez has won the final immoral battle but we just do not know it yet: Chavez is a thief but he is OUR thief.

We do get what we deserve after all.

--- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Update: Just lovely! In today's session Maionica, one of the "guilty" party stated that Vielma Mora (Ex-"IRS/SENIAT" head) offered a fake fiscal form to justify the 800 000 USD of the carry on bag and that the newly minted (two days ago) Interior Minister Tarek El-Assaimi was joined over the phone during the conversations that were held last year to convince Antonini to hide the whole scam.

Darn! as Miguel informed us, Tarek is not going to reply to the "garbage" coming from the US court. I suppose that he is right: he would have to spend so much time justifying his actions then and we need him so desperately here at home to focus on our crime problem. Way to go Tarek!

But seriously now. Chavez, and Tarek, and Vielma Mora, and X,Y,Z can chose to refuse to acknowledge anything from the Miami trial, until their heads turn blue, the damage will be terrible anyway. For example, as announced here last Saturday days ago, Ledezma finally got the "unity" nod for Caracas Mayor at Large, and Ledezma is the kind of politician who knows how to use such revelations as they happen in Miami to bludgeon the chavista candidates for Caracas. And if there is an area of Venezuela where the Miami trial can have an outcome, it is Caracas.

-The end-

Maletagate keeps apace

The Argentina Media report that Antonini traveled in that plane under orders of Chavez with whom he had diner the night before. Apparently there was not enough places in the presidential Boeing to the Buenos Aires junket.

What does Chavez reply? "I have nothing to say on that". And so we know know that all Venezuelan public institutions have orders to cover up as much as they can the 800K bag. George Bush must be green with envy!

-The end-

The rotten stench of the decaying bolivarian revolution

Truly since December 2 the glorious bolivarian revolution has been redolent of moral decomposition.

This past weeks, as people are less and less afraid of Chavez and when scandals are more and more difficult to hide and ignore, we are witnessing an acceleration of accusations and "sudden discoveries". We started this year with already such lingering scandals as the Antonini 800 000 money bag to Argentina (by the way, this incident seems to have faded early Cristina K. presidency as she is going from new problems to new set backs, just as if her administration were already an exhausted one). But what has happened in the recent weeks make all of these previous scandals children game. Of course, each one is due to a judicial system hijacked since 1999 by the executive and which has failed miserably to exert any of the controls needed in civilized society. Moral and financial corruptionS are now so extensive that after the December 2 rupture, well, it all starts coming out, like worms escaping the rotten carcass. In no particular order of importance, since we do not know where will the next stinky bomb explode.

The Anderson case is reopened

Long time readers of this blog of course are aware of the scandalous investigation of the murder of prosecutor Danilo Anderson. To this date we still do not know who paid the alleged murderers (by a bomb in Anderson car). Still, with what looked like a manipulated trial, the Guevara brothers were put in jail. But that is not all. Using basically a single witness that Isaias Rodriguez personally trusted from "looking inside his eyes", he, the General Prosecutor of the Republic, thought it was enough evidence to arrest or point out to dozen of people. Today all are free though many are still under investigation, while several of them, including journalist Patricia Poleo had to exile themselves because they decided that under the present situation they could not benefit of a fair trial. Judging by how many people were shot and what happened to the Guevara brothers, her concerns were certainly not unfounded.

That the famous witness was confounded as a fraud did not change much to the results...

Well, last week one of the prosecutors in charge of the investigation of the Anderson case declared, accused, Isaias Rodriguez of having manipulated the evidence, fabricating some, dismissing any evidence that could have spared unjust blame, and other manipulation of justice. Today, after the government removed his body guards, Hernando Contreras went to ask protection at the OAS office in Caracas (by the way what is this that anyone in government seems to have at least one body guard in Venezuela while this bloggers is been robbed at least once a year since Chavez is president?). The initial reply of Isaias has been less than convincing...

So, what will happen with the Guevara brothers if they have been condemned unjustly? Will Patricia Poleo be able to return to Venezuela? What about the other guys accused on just an impression? Will they receive a reparation for the injustice made to them? Will Isaias go on trial in turn? Will we ever know who killed Anderson? Apparently from what has been said these days it seems that the cover up order came from somewhere inside the higher ranks of the government, that is, Anderson was ordered killed because... he knew too much? He charged too much the extortion victims his gang managed? went too far with a given minister? risked to expose accidentally someone else?

Yaracuy governor indicted, of sorts

Yaracuy actual governor, Gimenez, a user, an incompetent manager and apparently also incompetent thief has finally been nailed. Not because he was a thief, mind you!!! We in Yaracuy knew already that before he made it to the State Mansion. But for the hoi poloi he was Chavez candidate and that was enough reason to vote for him 3 years ago.

One of the first things he did reaching office was to prosecute former governor Lapi over some public works in Yaritagua. I do not know whether Lapi was guilty of any wrongdoing, there was never a trial. However Lapi was duly jailed for months during "the investigation" and eventually had to escape jail because his life was in danger. Now, like Patricia Poleo he is in exile, a much better thing for chavismo than to have to judge someone with insufficient evidence against him or her.

Meanwhile, Gimenez and his family who seem to have stolen more money than whatever Lapi could dream, or need in his exile, is walking the streets without much problem except some public embarrassment. See, the reason why of all chavista officials he is one of the few that got sort of caught is because he was very clumsy about stealing and they need him out of Yaracuy sate house for many reason that have nothing to do with good governance. Because if good governance were chavismo goals, Gimenez would have never been put as governor.

Chavez family as XXI century socialist landlords

And while we are talking family business the Gimenez are not the only ones who benefited from nepotism. With about half a dozen of siblings and parents the Chavez pack seems to have enough hands now to have become the biggest landlords of Barinas state in less than a decade. Oh, sure, they did it through front men and stuff like that, but the locals apparently know that some of the front men never had a penny saved to buy the dirt off the land they now own.

Now, we all knew or suspected of it for years but suddenly a representative for Barinas, Azuaje, who apparently has personal ambitions has decided to ask for an investigation on all of these suspect properties. See, apparently even though he is in the chavista party and even though he seems to have gained some merits of his own in Barinas (remember, merits in chavismo are mostly related to you abilities to suck up), he is miffed that some of the Chavez lousy brothers will inherit the state house of Barinas while he thinks of himself to be a little bit more valuable than a Chavez brother. He is probably right but that is not the point. The point is that as soon as he accused the Chavez clan of illicit enrichment the whole apparatus system and judicial system started to move in gear to shut him down. At flash speed a local judge declared that there was nothing to investigate. The parliament said that he was talking because of his ambition but no commission of course was dispatched to at lest look into the matter, though some perfunctory investigation was promised. However they also decided to investigate Azuaje. After all it would be very simple to investigate if one wanted to: you ask one of these front men to explain where they suddenly got the money to buy a given ranch. Surely they must have retained a copy of the winning lottery ticket? No?

On a judicial point of view of course I do not expect an investigation to be started, this is Venezuela and no sitting president has been investigated on illegally appropriated money even though many left Miraflores more prosperous than they entered (Carlos Andres Perez was unseated because he misplaced funds, not because he took them for himself, -1-). No, what is interesting here is that suddenly we are talking about those things, in particular the locals in Sabaneta, Chavez hometown, who say candidly on TV that having the brother of the president as mayor has not brought them any advantage. That is how clumsy chavistas are when they steal, they do not even bother to toss a bone to their local homies, as the Adecos had the intelligence to do....

So there you see, the consequences of the absence of an independent judicial system. And it is just starting.....

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1- of the democratic era Betancourt and Leoni left Miraflores with only their pension as ex-president. None of their relatives has been reported having become suddenly rich. Caldera also lives in the same house he had and with the same life style although at least one of his sons seem to have benefited from his closeness to power. Luis Herrera did not even had a car when he died and we learned that some of his expensive medical bills were paid by his friends. Only Lusinchi and Carlos Andres are rumored to have acquired a significant fortune. Yet, if the Barinas tales are true, the Chavez clan will have taken from public treasures amount fo money never seen since the times of Gomez!

-The end-

La narco Venezuela salió del closet/armario

Vamos a estar claros: hace mucho tiempo que los que observamos Venezuela de cerca sabíamos que su régimen era militarizado, sufriendo las consecuencias que ello implica, corrupto y narcotraficante, que es lo que hay desde las ultimas décadas del siglo XX. Antes esos regímenes traficaban en esclavos, oro, trata de blancas y otras cosas, pero desde que el norte le sacó gusto a empolvarse las fosas nasales de blanco, evolucionó el sector.

Narco-chusma: 4 en las listas de la DEA y 3
a quien le falta poco para ingresarlas

Pero al mismo tiempo que empezó el norte a drogarse, apareció en el sur una ideología anti norteamericana, o mas bien, anti valores occidentales. El objetivo de las pandillas que van de los Castro hasta el foro de Sao Paulo es minimizar a los Estados Unidos. Eliminarlo seria mejor pero para eso esperarán que la migración desde el sur haga el trabajo. Es mas, esos sistemas políticos anti norte americanos favorecen aun mas la migración.

Una herramienta clave, promocionada por los hermanos Castro, ha sido el trafico de droga a los Estados Unidos y a Europa. En su amargura de fracasados y resentidos se adueñaron de un portaaviones en el Caribe desde el cual han hecho toda clase de fechorías para tratar de destruir los valores occidentales, sin ofrecer nada a cambio. O ofertas transitorias dependientes de los caudillos o guerrillas de turno. Y mientras que sus discípulos hacían esos tráficos, los de Colombia siendo los mas aventajados alumnos, los Castro cobraban su tajada por ayudar, por guardar el botín, por recoger los heridos y esconderlos.