Henri Falcón, also known as Henri Falsón or Henri the Fake, is a quintessential Venezuelan politician: always seeking the shortest path to his next meal. Therefore, it’s no surprise that one of his associates, Jorge Alejandro Rodríguez Moreno, presented an Amicus Curiae before the Delaware court handling the Crystallex v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela case, to highlight the monumental and unavoidable conflict of interest surrounding José Ignacio Hernández. He was the former “attorney / prosecutor / general counsel” for Juan Guaidó (see pdf below). During Guaidó’s “government,” Hernández has been central to various legal campaigns aimed at “protecting and securing” Venezuela’s assets abroad. With the help mainly of measures imposed by the Trump administration, Guaidó has achieved moderate success in obtaining some funds. This has led to internal disputes within the so-called “opposition to Maduro,” as Voluntad Popular (Guaidó’s party) is practically in charge of the “administration” of these funds. Hawk-like figures have been left out of the pie and have taken their case to, erm, Delaware.
We’ve been ranting about Hernández’s inadequacies for quite some time. He was more than just Crystallex’s chosen expert on Venezuelan law. In fact, Hernández played a decisive role in piercing Crystallex’s veil of protection; the legal expert who facilitated Crystallex’s seizure of CITGO – as an asset that could be added to the $1.2 billion favorable judgment against Venezuela – was indeed Hernández, who has repeatedly argued that Venezuela absolutely controls the alter ego of PDVSA, and the latter CITGO.
Hernández was also the chosen expert for Francisco Morillo, Leonardo Baquero, and Daniel Lutz (Helsinge) to assist in defending against the illegal formation of the PDVSA US Litigation Trust and its fraud case against Glencore, Trafigura, Vitol, Lukoil, and others. Hernández acknowledged in court documents that he has been retained five times in total in cases related to Venezuela. Each instance was as a legal expert hired by parties acting against Venezuela. Imagine how ridiculous the situation is, then, that the same legal expert presents himself to defend Guaidó…
Guaidó never considered that, of course. Neither did Falcón nor his aide Rodríguez Moreno. But as Chavismo is genuinely suffering due to Treasury sanctions, and with very little money left, the rats are clearly in scavenger mode. Falcon must be thinking he has an opportunity in the Crystallex saga, essentially challenging every action taken by Hernández in his capacity as Guaidó’s “Attorney General.”
Chavismo has recently taken decisive steps against non-aligned opposition parties that selfishly managed funds that used to be under their irresponsible control. Guaidó’s position is rapidly becoming untenable, as his four-headed “administration” (composed of Leopoldo López, Henry Ramos Allup, Julio Borges, and Henrique Capriles Radonski) crumbles. Falcón, once a Chavista always a Chavista, is firmly on Maduro’s side. He is after billions of dollars. His actions, along with those of his aides, must be assessed in light of that.
The line of creditors is very long and growing. Two completely opaque entities also registered in Delaware (BRV Disbursement Co. LLC and BRV Administrator Co. LLC) were recently chosen by Guaidó to receive and manage the recovered funds. These thugs, all equally corrupt, are in a race for the spoils.