The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, established by the founder of the Hilton hotel chain, has disbursed $375,000 USD to the NGO Coalition For Venezuela Inc. (Miami) between June 2023 and July 2025, as verified by the data journalism platform La Tabla through a documentary investigation on the foundation’s website.
Venezuelan authorities, through Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, have reported that these funds are linked to “electoral conspiracy acts.” Cabello displayed proof of a transfer of $9,531.97 USD from the Hilton foundation to the account of opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa (who is detained for “terrorism”), claiming it was routed through the mentioned entity. According to the official narrative, this money would originate from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), passing through the Hilton foundation, then to Leopoldo López, and finally to Guanipa via Coalition For Venezuela.
The Hilton Foundation has not issued any statements on this matter. Meanwhile, Coalition For Venezuela Inc. claims on its website that its work focuses on “refugee rights,” and the $375,000 appears on their portal as “humanitarian aid.” However, Venezuelan authorities contrast this claim with the nature of the contributions. The descriptions of the disbursements do not refer to direct humanitarian aid but rather to the political training of individuals to promote the narrative of migration as a necessary escape from Venezuelan crises. Readers can see the descriptions below:
K$100,000 (Jun/2023-May/2024): “Capacity building for migrant organizations.”
$75,000 (Aug/2023-Feb/2024): “Training in diplomacy for the World Refugee Forum.”
$200,000 (Aug/2024-Jul/2025): “Influence on refugee policies” (ongoing).
It is important to highlight that all funds were transferred outside of Venezuela and project implementation was to take place outside the Venezuelan territory.
The Hilton foundation has delivered nearly 10 million dollars over the past five years for the financing of projects related to Venezuela.
The entity Coalition for Venezuela Inc. was registered in September 2020; however, all its directors were changed in November 2022. Only one of the seven named is a Florida resident and is acting as the treasurer, overseeing the registration and processing of the entity. His name is Ricardo Pinza and at one point he was the acting mayor of El Hatillo municipality in Miranda State, although it is part of the Greater Caracas.
In upcoming posts, we will expand on this information as well as details regarding other entities that have received funding from the Conrad N. Hilton foundation.