UPDATE 08/05/2020 – 09:55 GMT | The adventures of Alex Saab in the oil sector are not new. There was a time when he had to rely on “decent” intermediaries, like Jean Paul Rivas, in his energy trading attempts. Not anymore. U.S. Treasury sanctions have pushed PDVSA into Saab’s arms. He is no longer considered toxic. His characteristic stench goes unnoticed in the company of Nicolás Maduro, Cilia, and Tareck el Aisami: Venezuela’s new Minister of Oil. Following Rosneft’s exit, Saab’s companies, Libre Abordo and Schlager Business Group, have quickly become PDVSA’s largest and most significant trading partners, lifting over 26 million barrels of crude oil according to internal shipping data. So, what does PDVSA gain?
Our sources recently shared details about a meeting at the La Guaira port, attended by Juan Santiago (MULTIOCEAN), Eduardo Aguas (SENAIN), Meylin Marin (CORPOVEX), Rafael Schwartz & Elias Cerdá (AEROCAV), Manuel Muñoz (FOTON), Roxana Mundarain & Alfredo Vetancourt (Libre Abordo), and representatives from Bolipuertos.
Discussion points: the arrival of the AN PING 8 vessel, unloading and delivery of 222 semi-trailer water tanks (30,000LT), 20 semi-trailer water tanks (10,000LT), and a FOTON truck.
The ETA for AN PING 8 was April 30. The consignees SENAIN and MULTIOCEAN were to deliver unloading operations directly to CORPOVEX. AEROCAV would act as Libre Abordo’s agent to verify the cargo. FOTON was to approve all units, and Alexander Guaramato (Acting Director General of the Ministry of Interior) was to provide at least 200 truck drivers. The Bolivarian National Armed Forces Strategic Operations Command (CEOFANB) was to be notified about the operation to ensure security and guarantee safe passage to the final destination/customer.
Something unusual is happening. Truck movements for fuel in the early morning. They don’t have PDVSA logos. They are new… They have GNB motorized escorts… This was last night.. May 2, 2020 pic.twitter.com/ls4xsBpTPK
— GabrielGaniarov (@Altazorin) May 2, 2020
The office of Libre Abordo in Caracas is the address previously used by Johnson & Johnson. It is registered in the tax database as Libre Abordo Venezuela C.A. (Quimivenca 22 C.A.) with number J408238365. It is important to note that there is no record of either company in Venezuela’s procurement registry.
This outlet contacted Roxana Mundarain, one of the representatives of Libre Abordo. After inquiring how her contact information was obtained, she forwarded our request to the chain of command. A certain Cecilia Aguirre, claiming to be the public relations representative of Libre Abordo, re-established contact and stated the following:
– Libre Abordo SA de CV is a 100% Mexican capital company, with 10 years of experience in foreign trade. The CEO and majority shareholder is Verónica Esparza García. In the first half of 2019, Libre Abordo entered into a humanitarian aid contract with the Venezuelan Corporation of Foreign Trade (Corpovex) to supply 210,000 tons of white maize and 1,000 tanker trucks; the latter to implement a water distribution program in marginalized regions of Venezuela. The contracts fully comply with the guidelines established by the U.S. government in its Executive Orders 13850 and 18884 (sic), as well as with the General License 4C from the Department of the Treasury; therefore, they do not violate the U.S. restrictions imposed on the Venezuelan government or are subject to sanctions.
– Libre Abordo chartered the services of the PING 8 vessel to transport 290 tractor-trailers, known as “chutos,” and 10 semi-trailer tankers, each with a capacity of 30,000 liters of water from China to the port of La Guaira, Venezuela. The cargo arrived on April 3, 2020, and was the first of four scheduled deliveries to fulfill the contract for 1,000 tanker trucks. The second shipment also arrived at La Guaira port last Friday, May 1, aboard the Chipolbrok Sun vessel, with two additional shipments expected in the coming weeks to complete the delivery.
– Roxana Mundarain was an employee of the Libre Abordo office in Venezuela. We currently do not have a working relationship with her.
– Libre Abordo currently has no ongoing relationship with the firm Elemento Ltd.
– Neither the owners nor the directors of Libre Abordo have ties or any relationship with the individuals mentioned (Alex Saab and Alfredo Vetancourt).
210,000 tons of maize and 1,000 tanker trucks then, from a Mexican company that lacks a single example of participation in humanitarian oil agreements anywhere in the world. From the outset, sources have informed this outlet that Alex Saab is the man behind Libre Abordo. Despite absurd clarifications, no one in the business knows who Verónica Esparza García is, much less how she became such a significant player in town so quickly.
Libre Abordo claims compliance with General License 4C and Executive Orders 13850, 13884. Let’s examine the wording:
“… in light of the actions of the Maduro regime and associated individuals to loot the wealth of Venezuela for their own corrupt purposes, degrade the infrastructure and natural environment of Venezuela through economic mismanagement and confiscatory mining and industrial practices, and catalyze a regional migration crisis by neglecting the basic needs of the Venezuelan people…”
Alex Saab is a wanted thug by the Department of Justice. The DEA is also pursuing him. His association with Maduro is very public and notorious. How does the “humanitarian” deal of Libre Abordo with CORPOVEX arise? What bidding process did they win? What due diligence was conducted on Libre Abordo? What other companies were considered?
While General License 4C permits the importation of agricultural products (human food), there is no uncertainty about CORPOVEX’s status in Saab’s schemes.
Oh, but it gets better. Libre Abordo was involved with a crude oil cargo aboard the VL Nichioh, which, as usual, went dark. Since this was Libre Abordo’s first foray into the world of “humanitarian aid,” it partnered with Elemento Ltd., which leased the tanker according to sources.
Another thug involved with Elemento, Richard Rothenberg, told the High Court of Justice in England: “… since its incorporation, Elemento has conducted 38 oil transactions, including current transactions, of which 25 were conducted through the Elemento/CCI joint venture. Since that company was dissolved, Elemento has completed 13 more exchanges on its own.”
Saab has been very close to Maduro for years, thanks to Piedad Córdoba, a former senator linked to Colombian narcoterrorist groups. Saab is also closely aligned with Cilia Flores’s PDVSA network, previously led by her nephew Carlos Erik Malpica Flores. Landscape Vision Corp., a shell controlled by Carlos Erik’s sister, received hundreds of millions in construction projects and then subcontracted Saab. Landscape Vision even sent an employee to Moscow with forged documents to open accounts at EvroFinance Mosnarbank, so that internal transfers to Saab would evade sanctions. Saab has also, of course, developed excellent relations with CORPOVEX.
The Libre Abordo / Schlager agreements occurred in the same way Saab’s Global Housing Fund obtained hundreds of millions in housing contracts, in the same manner that Maduro’s CLAP food subsidy program (mostly of Mexican origin) enriched Saab further, and in the same manner that Saab’s Trenaco secured the largest production/infrastructure contract in history in the Orinoco Belt, and in the same manner his foray into gold business in Turkey… there isn’t a single legitimate deal Alex Saab has made since stepping foot in Venezuela, and Libre Abordo is no different.
Given the near-total dominance of Libre Abordo / Schlager in PDVSA’s crude exports and trade in recent times, it remains a mystery how these structures have not been added to the Treasury’s SDN list. Our sources report that most of Saab’s deals are currently conducted under strict secrecy and with the direct participation of chavista officials. Just like the delivery of water trucks, it is the Armed Forces, customs, and PDVSA staff acting as maritime agents, when not corrupt contractors like Elemento lending a hand, with tanker trucks turning off their AIS transponders… This is oil trade in the style of Colombian drug cartels. And Saab would know: his partner Germán Enrique Rubio Salas (aka Alvaro Enrique Pulido Vargas) was arrested in May 2000 for drug trafficking. So who can say that Saab isn’t shipping tons of cocaine?
There are other equally suspicious companies suddenly involved with PDVSA: Richeart International Limited, Blackwell International Limited, Beaconsfield Commodities Trading AG, Grupo Jomadi Logistics & Cargo, and the newcomer Proton Sociedad Limitada. It’s time for the agile thugs…