Magalli Meda (head of María Corina’s campaign) established a company in the U.S. with a fundraising expert and “distributor” of funds
Company registration occurred in August 2024 while Meda was hiding in the Argentine embassy
1. Initial discovery:
A company in Florida from an embassy in Caracas
On August 22, 2024, while Magalli Meda of Olavarría—head of María Corina Machado’s campaign—was sheltering in the Argentine embassy in Caracas to evade an arrest warrant in Venezuela, her name surfaced in Florida’s public records as a founding member of Original Mano Strategies LLC. The inconsistency is clear: Meda could not physically be in the U.S. to sign documents, suggesting a coordinated remote registration.
This information, accessible on Florida’s government platforms, was the first piece of a puzzle that would unveil a more complex operation.
2. A fundraising expert with a political background
The company registration lists Gerardo Perozo, a Venezuelan sociologist residing in Chicago, as the manager. His public profile is crucial for understanding the company’s purpose:
– Recognized background: He was general manager of Ratio UCAB, the opinion studies unit of the Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB).
– Move to Chicago: According to his social media, he moved to that city in 2019 for “work reasons,” without specifying formal employers.
– Self-description on LinkedIn: He presents himself as a “fundraising expert” with two decades linked to projects aiming to “change the government of Venezuela.”
3. The $950,000 project:
The investigation delves into his work at PMart Consultancy (2019-2024), where Perozo coordinated a fund of $950,000 USD intended to:
1. Create 35 new political entities.
2. Distribute funds among 18 opposition organizations.
3. Unite 15 dispersed groups in 24 regional areas of Venezuela under a coalition for a “new government in 3-4 years.”
In his profile, Perozo outlines his role as administrator and distributor of these resources, which included “harmonizing agendas” and “financially aligning” organizations.
4. Opaque structures and ghost addresses:
The LLC’s trail reveals irregularities:
– Chicago location: The declared physical and postal address in Florida corresponds to a temporary rental complex in Illinois, where Perozo claims to reside.
– Opaque registered agent: Hortensia Torres, designated as the legal contact, used a short-term rental apartment as her address in Florida.
– Link to Delaware: Perozo also appears in PMart Consultancy Inc, a company registered in Delaware (U.S.), famously known for allowing shareholder anonymity.
These elements are consistent with capital legitimization models, which use shell companies and opaque jurisdictions to move funds without clear trails.
5. Legitimate fundraising or dubious financial circuit?
While there is no proof of money laundering, the sequence of findings exposes a concerning pattern:
1. Meda registers an LLC in the U.S. from an embassy in Caracas, without physical capability to do so directly.
2. Perozo, her manager, has a history of handling large sums for political projects through ephemeral structures.
3. The LLC uses temporary addresses and is linked to a company in Delaware, common practices in financial opacity schemes.
6. Context:
The involvement of the MCM team in a U.S. company with these characteristics could rekindle debates over:
– Transparency in opposition funding.
– Potential violations of international laws if it is proven that funds were moved through undeclared structures.
Conclusion (without categorical affirmations):
The creation of Original Mano Strategies LLC is not an isolated fact: it is the tip of an iceberg connecting a sheltered figure (Meda), a professional fundraiser (Perozo), and a network of companies in opaque jurisdictions. Although there is no legal verdict, the accumulation of elements—false addresses, a history of creating fleeting political entities, and money flows without public auditing—paints a picture of unconventional financing, the details of which demand greater scrutiny.
Methodological note:
This report was constructed following the trail of public data:
1. LLC registration in Florida (August 2024).
2. Analysis of Perozo’s profiles on LinkedIn and social networks.
3. Geolocation of declared addresses.
4. Contextualization with international standards against money laundering (FATF).