The Venezuelan businessman Carlos Kauffmann has recently made headlines for sponsoring an online campaign against the Añez family, his former partners in the airline Avior. However, this is not the first time Kauffmann’s name has surfaced in the media. In 2007, he was convicted in the United States for operating as an agent for a foreign government without permission in connection with the Antonini Wilson suitcase case.
The media war of Carlos Kauffmann against the Añez family, his former partners in the Venezuelan airline Avior
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Valijagate
The Antonini Wilson suitcase case dates back to August 2007, when Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, an Argentine-Venezuelan businessman, was detained at Buenos Aires airport with a suitcase containing $800,000 in cash. Antonini Wilson claimed the money was intended for the presidential campaign of then-Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, funded by chavismo. The case is known as “Valijagate.”
In December 2007, Venezuelans Moisés Maionica, Franklin Durán, and Carlos Kauffmann, along with Uruguayan Rodolfo Wanseele, were arrested in the United States by the FBI in connection with the Antonini Wilson suitcase case. They were subsequently charged by U.S. federal prosecutor Thomas Mulvihill with acting as “agents of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela” and conspiring to conceal the true source and destination of the $800,000 found in the suitcase.
According to reports, Guido Antonini Wilson had been pressured in a series of meetings by the alleged agents to accept $2 million in exchange for not revealing the origin or destination of the $800,000 suitcase. Additionally, it was reported that the security of Antonini’s daughters had been threatened by the alleged Venezuelan agents, unless he complied.
Carlos Kauffmann and his partner Franklin Durán were owners of Venoco, a manufacturer of automotive lubricants where Antonini Wilson served as an advisor.
Carlos Kauffmann was sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in covering up the Antonini case. The conviction was handed down in December 2008.
New Business Ventures with the Regime
After his involvement in the Antonini Wilson case, reports indicate that Carlos Kauffmann has continued to maintain ties with the Venezuelan government and has done business with chavismo-madurismo. His lawyer filed for political asylum, claiming that his collaboration with Federal authorities made his return to Venezuela a risk to his physical integrity due to the possibility of being killed. However, Kauffmann continued conducting business in Venezuela. It has been reported that his lover in the United States, María Irene Corrales Casanova, allegedly played a significant role in laundering the proceeds from those businesses. Corrales Casanova reportedly purchased two overpriced townhouses in Miami Dade and made repairs without the necessary permits from the Division of Permitting.
Kauffmann has also gained attention for his extravagant lifestyle, navigating the Miami River and Biscayne Bay aboard a yacht approximately 48 feet long with friends. Additionally, he has been reported as a shareholder in Miami of BARACOA INVESTMENTS, LLC, a company dissolved in 2020, where he shared ties with María Gabriela Jiménez, María Irene Corrales (lover), Clementina Ponte, Moisés Maiónica, and Luis Alfredo Suárez. Although his name does not appear in another company, Kauffmann is presumed to be connected in Miami with RIVER SPRINGS 2010 LLC, which is currently active, with Pedro A González as the sole shareholder.
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