In early February 2009, an email arrived in the inbox of Félix Plasencia, the current Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela:
Dear Félix,
Is this good enough? I also held several ceremonial diplomatic positions for the following African leaders:
1- Advisor to former president Abdul Dioff of Senegal.
2- Consul General of Great Britain in the Central African Republic while President Patase was in power.
3- Traveling Ambassador of the Republic of Liberia over ten years ago.
4- Advisor to the late president Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Best regards,
Basil
“Basil” is, of course, Basil Shiblaq, a London businessman with a rather questionable career. Shiblaq used to court Delcy Rodríguez when she was in London to develop “business opportunities” in Venezuela. The charm offensive included meetings at luxury hotels, bars, visits to Shiblaq’s flat, and more.
He presented himself as an experienced “investor” in finance, oil trading, and mining. His CV – created by Pavel Ghahreman-Nejad in October 2004 and modified in December 2007 – included references to periods at Merril Lynch (1969-1978), Kidder Peabody (1978-1980), Credit Suisse (1980-1982), and involvement in Salfiti Securities (UK) Limited, Sirt Securities (UK) Limited, Uni Oil (U.K) Limited, Prime Oil (London) Limited, and Omicron Holding plc between 1988 and 2009.
Shiblaq is the kind of corrupt businessman who feels equally comfortable operating with chavistas, mercenaries, London bankers, “African leaders,” and former heads of the UK Conservative Party, as evidenced by his recent activities.
The Financial Times recently reported that Shiblaq had signed some sort of mining agreement with the regime of Nicolás Maduro. Shiblaq’s partners were not mentioned. Elsewhere, it was reported that Ian Hannam was the covert operative involved in organizing a meeting between Erik Prince and Delcy Rodríguez, aimed at securing mining concessions in Venezuela. The meeting with Rodríguez took place months after Prince’s proposals for a mercenary army to overthrow Maduro were made to various close associates of Trump’s puppet, Juan Guaidó. Once again, Shiblaq’s connection was lost.
The agreement involving Shiblaq has been in the works for years and includes all key components, including another associate (Fuad Huseynli) who is a “former deputy head of global commodities at VTB Capital Plc.”
It is unlikely that Shiblaq or his associates will be sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury. Maduro has shown an ability to mock the poorly implemented sanctions regime, and figures like Shiblaq, Hannam, and Prince are precisely what is needed. Instead of weakening Maduro’s control, the measures taken by the Trump and Biden administrations have managed to strengthen Maduro’s position to unprecedented levels. The upcoming elections are set to be Maduro’s definitive coronation, with the approval of the European Union, the Carter Center, and all major political parties in Venezuela.
And then there’s Boris Johnson, leading a government characterized by sleaziness. While the UK has implemented some sanctions against certain chavistas, Shiblaq has absolutely nothing to fear here. Venezuela may turn out to be the only place where Shiblaq truly thrives.