Journalist Patricia Poleo revealed yesterday that Monómeros -one of the assets seized by Juan Guaidó and his associates- paid $60,000 to Antonieta Mendoza de López -also known as the mother of Leopoldo López– for a “report” titled “Discovering Guaidó: A Man of Persistence”.
Poleo’s report is worth the 22 minutes. She highlights some interesting connections. Leopoldo’s mother serves as Vice President of Advocacy LatAm at Llorente & Cuenca (LLYC), which presents itself as “a global consultative firm for communication, digital marketing, and public affairs”.
According to the documents shown by Poleo, LLYC received $60,000 from Monómeros, a subsidiary of PDVSA based in Colombia under the control of Guaidó & López, which has recently been in the news due to rampant corruption. The assets managed by Guaidó have essentially turned into cash cows, but beyond the feud, she noted that the Colombian government decided to intervene and took control of Monómeros, presumably to prevent further scandals in the future.
Another interesting fact revealed by Poleo is that Nelson Rivera, (remember him?) assisted López’s mother in the “production” of the report. In case readers have forgotten, Rivera is none other than the public relations man and collaborator of Derwick Associates, associated with the Vice President of Advocacy LatAm at LLYC. Remarkable dealings for a “public affairs consulting firm,” right? This connection with the worst white-collar criminals produced by Venezuela is telling. Rivera’s collaboration with Leopoldo López’s mother is not tenuous: recall that the head of Derwick, Alejandro Betancourt, has control over Guaidó’s brother and father, meaning when the interim leadership struggles, individuals like Betancourt and Raúl Gorrín provide the financing. The fact that Betancourt’s partner, Francisco Convit, spends his time between Caracas and Los Roques, evading the Department of Justice and completely free from the clutches of chavista justice, suggests a fluid conduit between chavismo, the boliburguesía, and the opposition.
This site continues to hear about how the new management of CITGO, also under the control of Guaidó & López, is mired in corruption. It is said that some shadowy political operators involved with Monómeros are now venturing into CITGO. How many dubious payments like the one made to López’s mother will be found there?
We have also heard that the U.S. Treasury and the Department of Justice are closely watching López in particular and the management of CITGO. The level of disillusionment among those close to López is such that they believe the Treasury and the Department of Justice will forever remain under the spell they cast over officials at the State Department.
Moreover, this site is aware of CITGO contractors who have not been paid for services rendered under the pretext of OFAC sanctions. Curiously, the accounts payable for services rendered date back to before sanctions were imposed, involve companies outside the U.S., and are still pending.
CITGO reported results for 2020, claiming “a net loss of approximately $(667) million for the year… The Company also paid $93 million in dividends to CITGO Holding, Inc.” This site reached out to Horacio Medina for clarifications on the above. It will be interesting to see who is providing CITGO with an “average of 638,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude” -given OFAC sanctions on PDVSA- and what kind of investigative process Guaidó’s team implemented for the acquisition.
Venezuela will remain a source of embarrassment for the U.S. Government, regardless of who is at the top. This is not an issue of partisan politics but of profound naivety. Guaidó is the “man of persistence” when it comes to ongoing corruption. American politicians on both sides of the aisle giving standing ovations during the State of the Union address to Guaidó will not look very good in the coming years. As serious investigations begin, all involved in aiding and instigating thoroughly corrupt Venezuelans will be tainted.