Every journalist or media outlet has its biases and agendas. When it comes to corruption, particularly in resource-rich countries, there is little left unknown; it’s all part of an ever-evolving narrative within the field. Anyone who is remotely familiar with large-scale corruption has likely heard about Russia, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Odebrecht in Brazil, China, the Panama Papers, FIFA, Switzerland, London, Daniel Ortega, the Kirchners, HSBC’s active assistance to Mexican drug lords, David Cameron and Greensill, Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump… Although the essence of the matter may elude many, the key countries and players are widely recognized. However, when it comes to Venezuela, little has transpired; family names (for some of us) do not raise as much as an eyebrow. Mention Rafael Ramírez to “corruption experts,” and most would respond, “Rafael who?”
Last year, several must-read books were published. Bellingcat, Tom Burgis, Javier Blas, and Jack Farchy, and – our clear favorite – Catherine Belton, have all addressed this issue. A common thread in all four corruption-related works is the near-absolute absence of mentions of Venezuela. This extends beyond the aforementioned authors and includes the work of NGOs such as Global Witness, ICIJ, Transparency International, and so on.
There seems to be a lack of awareness of the Chavista connection, which is present and inevitable in almost every major corruption scandal over the past two decades. The reason is simple: it could be argued that no country in the world has experienced the kind of looting that Chavismo imposed and promoted as state policy in Venezuela. Take China, for instance. Much has been said, and will continue to be said, about how Chinese leadership has hoarded the world’s resources. China’s quiet economic imperialism has not only established control over much of resource-rich Africa but also is part of a multifaceted strategy to ensure that, no matter the outcome, resources reach Chinese ports/airports without fail.
China was one of the first to embrace Hugo Chávez‘s multipolar world philosophy. Billions were funneled into Venezuela, and hundreds of bilateral agreements were signed. Joint ventures – run by Chinese workers – were numerous, varied, and spread out, to the extent that Venezuela’s ethnicity will change. Corruption has been the underlying religion. China prefers its partners to be as corrupt as they are. In Venezuela’s case, it’s even worse. Tens of billions in exchange for easy access to untapped reserves ensured ample opportunities for the thoroughly corrupt on both sides. This is where Rafael comes in. As Minister of Energy and CEO of PDVSA for over a decade, he oversaw revenues exceeding $1.3 trillion. That’s not a typo; we’re talking about a TRILLION.
However, Rafael lives in Rome, in an apartment he secured as a bribe from Nervis Villalobos, one of his favored operators. This site has provided Italian authorities with precise details that reveal an entire chain of evidence linking the two to multi-billion dollar money laundering schemes. While authorities are often unable or unwilling to act on such intelligence, the media is generally more receptive. Unfortunately, not in Rafael’s case. No Italian media outlet seems interested in exposing him. The same applies to their American counterparts, and let’s not even mention NGOs that supposedly seek such cases.
PDVSA, one of the world’s largest energy conglomerates, is conspicuously absent from nearly all works published about corruption in the last decade. The fact that it is on the brink of total collapse and that its production has returned to unrecognizable levels does not pique any interest. Petrobras has been well-covered. What about Pemex? Same. But what about the historically largest – by a mile – of all Latin American oil companies? Nah, Blas and Farchy weren’t interested when investigating the criminal behavior of the most powerful commodity traders described in their book, despite the fact that many of them have traded billions with PDVSA.
Let’s consider another familiar name: Dan Gertler. He is infamous everywhere for his corrupt practices in African countries. He understands this because he is Jewish, of course, and because Israel, where he is based, is the favorite villain of the awakened. But Gertler’s deals are child’s play compared to what Francisco Morillo has done with PDVSA and the crème de la crème of Swiss-based commodity traders. Is that getting any attention? No. Not important enough.
Let’s take another example: Putin and his FSB praetorian force. They have made a phenomenal amount of business in Venezuela, all corrupt. Billions of dollars. The FSB’s involvement in energy deals between Venezuela’s state oil company and major Russian firms like Rosneft and Gazprom is of interest only to this site. Nobody else finds it worthy of further investigation. The same goes for the presence of Wagner mercenaries in Venezuela; any other place would attract interest, but in Venezuela, Wagner seems to serve only to assist.
The lack of basic interest is astonishing, and no matter how hard we try to find a plausible and reasonable justification, we cannot. Attacks on the media are universally condemned. The fraternity of journalists always comes to the aid of their peers, wherever they are, whatever they are reporting. When extraordinary things happen – like international operations to silence and terrorize – those of us exposing what no one wants to reveal find no sympathy.
It is both fortunate and unfortunate that the investigations published on this site over the years have been devoured by U.S. federal agencies and law enforcement. Fortunate because they are the only ones with the reach and guts to pursue criminals regardless of jurisdiction. Unfortunately, despite the piles of evidence at their disposal, very few charges are filed, often the punishment does not fit the crime, and most of those involved are never prosecuted. This is where thugs like Rudy Giuliani or Fusion GPS come into play; in America – as everywhere – if the money is right and access is good, everything can be bought, including the collusion of the Attorney General. More frustratingly, when our investigations lead to arrests, like in the case of Alex Saab, politics and banana republics thwart justice every step of the way.
We often reflect on the lack of action and commitment from law enforcement. Because when it comes to Venezuela, it is not a lack of evidence, but the opposite. But when criminal investigations can be halted or completely disregarded due to the old lobbying of Giuliani, Adam Kaufmann, and Abbe Lowell, what hope is there for places like Spain, where the Attorney General happens to be the girlfriend of a banned man and fallen lawyer on the Chavismo payroll? If that weren’t scandalous enough, the Vice President of Spain, until very recently, was another Chavismo employee. A former Prime Minister of France was also held by Chavista thugs.
While Italian authorities are prosecuting, seizing assets, and putting Alex Saab‘s mistress and proxies on the run, their Swiss counterparts, requested by the U.S. Department of Justice to act against the same criminals for the same crimes, maintain a policy of looking the other way. Billions of dollars looted from Venezuela have been laundered in Switzerland by its banking establishment. It could be argued that the last dollar originating from Venezuela that has arrived in Switzerland in the past 20 years is likely the product of corruption, yet Swiss authorities and regulatory bodies have yet to issue a single charge. Illicit money simply materializes in Swiss banks; it is not created, earned, generated, extracted, or stolen elsewhere. It just arrives there, and when questions are raised like those from Endri Gega, the “public prosecutors” hasten to dismiss them. Unfortunately, it is not just Switzerland; we could argue the same regarding the United Kingdom, where Venezuelan money launderers buy protection and legitimacy by donating to the Conservative Party (the Labour Party is equally corrupt).
An absolute silence surrounds these stories. We have all heard of 1MDB; however, the cited figures are a trivial sum compared to what has been involved with Derwick Associates. Have you heard of them? Most likely not. There are only a handful of people worldwide investigating, documenting, and denouncing Venezuelan corruption. Even fewer do so systematically, in English. What is already known leads us to conclude that Venezuela is the largest corruption scandal of the 21st century, but what we know is merely a fraction, akin to icebergs. Imagine what would happen if Venezuelan authorities applied to PDVSA what the United States did to ENRON, or if investigative media globally scrutinized Chavismo with the zeal applied to Mossack Fonseca.