The Arab-born citizen Neif Antonio Gebran Frangie, now residing in Miami after fleeing Venezuela, has been accused of having close ties with drug trafficker Daniel “El Loco” Barrera. He apparently indulges in fantasies, claiming to have orchestrated fake arrests of communicators, built friendships with former Central American presidents, and conjured up nonexistent events.
Gebran seems to believe that he can erase his past connections to drug trafficking, similar to how he was able to do so thanks to judicial corruption in Venezuela.
Through informants and paid pseudonyms, Gebran insists that he is the victim of alleged defamation, despite the fact that his activities and links to drug trafficking have been documented and reported by various independent media outlets.
In 2012, the Venezuelan newspaper La Verdad reported that law enforcement was tracking Neif Antonio Gebran Frangie, an Arab merchant linked to the Colombian drug trafficker “Loco Barrera.” That same year, officers from Core 4 of the Bolivarian National Guard raided Gebran’s residence in Lara state.
The newspaper El Impulso reported that officers confiscated an M-16 rifle, two 12-gauge shotguns (one of which was sawed off), a .38 caliber revolver, and a 9mm pistol. They collected 135 9mm cartridges, 15 .38 caliber cartridges, and five 5.56mm cartridges.
Thirty-one seals from different customs offices were found, presumably used to pass imported vehicles as legally entering Venezuela. They seized 11 imported cars valued at 25 million bolivars and discovered a Cessna aircraft.
At the scene, they arrested Antonio Nayef Gebran Nasinaf, the merchant’s father, who they were searching for, along with security guard Honorio Jesús Iturbe Reyes, both aged 63. Gebran Frangie was not found.
To this day, Gebran hasn’t explained why all those weapons were in his house, or is it normal for someone in Venezuela who is not related to crime and is not part of a security force to own a military weapon like an M-16 rifle?
Even the investigative journalism outlet Armando.info has noted that Gebran was linked to Colombian drug trafficker Daniel Barrera Barrera, known as El Loco Barrera, who was captured on September 18, 2012, in Venezuela, in the city of San Cristóbal, Táchira state, which borders Colombia.
According to case document KP01-P-2012-20508 from the Supreme Court’s Criminal Cassation Chamber, dated August 15, 2013, additional charges were accumulated against Gebran, who already had a detention order because he allegedly facilitated the escape of several accomplices of El Loco Barrera on a plane he owned. The document indicates a raid on a property Gebran owned in Barquisimeto, where “several luxury vehicles, high-caliber firearms, documents, and seals from various state agencies” were found. He was also charged because “he possessed assets that were not consistent with the legal activities he claimed to engage in, as he handled large sums of cash and owned numerous properties,” according to Armando.info. But Gebran Frangie has not explained any of this, nor have the paid informants trying to clear his name.
“On October 2 of this year, we received in this Prosecutor’s office communication NRO. ONA-P-O-4334, dated 01/10/2012, signed by General Edylberto Molina Molina, Deputy Director of the National Anti-Drug Office, which included CONFIDENTIAL REPORT NRO. ONA-RO-050, dated 01/10/2012, which documents information provided through 0800-ONA CALL alleging that NEIF ANTONIO GEBRAN FRANGIE, holder of identity card Nro. V-12.399.361, resides in a mansion next to the Tiuna Restaurant on Lara Avenue, Santa Rosa Parish, Iribarren Municipality, Lara State, and owns two (2) planes in his name, one of which “…flew from Barquisimeto carrying FANNY VALENCIA DE ESTRADA, LILIANA ESTRADA VALENCIA, EDILBERTO ESTRADA VALENCIA, and the two underage children of LILIANA ESTRADA VALENCIA and GERMAN ARTURO ARENAS RODRIGUEZ…”
The contents of the Venezuelan Public Ministry’s accusations are found in the case file. It states:
“On October 9, 2012, officers assigned to the Lara Citizen Security Detachment (DESUR-LARA) of the Bolivarian National Guard executed a search warrant at the property located on Lara Avenue next to the Tiuna Restaurant, Barquisimeto, Lara State, where NEIF ANTONIO GEBRAN FRANGIE, holder of identity card Nro. V-12.399.361, resides. They seized five (5) firearms, including an M16 Rifle, nine (9) vehicles of various brands including BMW, LAMBORGHINI, HUMMER, PORSCHE, MUSTANG, CAMARO, JEEP, all imported and whose legitimate provenance is unknown, along with 30 seals from various state agencies like SENIAT, BOLIVARIAN NATIONAL GUARD, CUSTOMS, CONSULATES IN THE US, NOTARIES, among others.
NEIF ANTONIO GEBRAN FRANGIE, holder of identity card Nro. V-12.399.361, linked to Daniel Barrera Barrera aka “El Loco Barrera,” handles large sums of money and assets arising from the illegal activities he engages in, such as drug trafficking and money laundering.
The Public Ministry believes there are sufficient grounds to decree personal coercive measures against NEIF ANTONIO GEBRAN FRANGIE, holder of identity card Nro. V-12.399.361, and to impose real measures…”
In 2018, Frank López Ballesteros, a journalist for Diario Las Américas in Miami, observed:
“Antonio Gebran Frangie, who has an arrest warrant in Venezuela, accused of being a frontman for the Colombian drug lord “Loco Barrera,” reportedly requested protection under the pretense of being a political fugitive from Hugo Chávez, but in practice, he is said to have ties to his regime through a mafia. U.S. prosecutors are investigating him.
More than luxury, Antonio Gebran Frangie was enchanted by eccentric collectible cars from the most famous brands. Therefore, on the afternoon of October 9, 2012, Venezuelan National Guard officers were astonished when they arrived at his residence in Barquisimeto to find the high-end vehicles this businessman owned.
That day, Gebran Frangie was accused by General Néstor Reverol, director of the National Anti-Drug Office (ONA), of cooperating and managing part of the fortune of powerful Colombian drug lord Daniel Barrera Barrera, alias “Loco Barrera,” who was captured in September 2012 in Venezuela and extradited the following year to Colombia, then to the United States.
The businessman has had an outstanding arrest warrant in Venezuela since 2012 after being accused by the Public Ministry of being one of the frontmen for “Loco Barrera,” and “managing large sums of money and assets derived from illegal activities,” which is why his properties were seized.
Days after this incident, Tony Gebran— as his acquaintances call him — left for the U.S. and supposedly applied for asylum in Miami. He allegedly presented himself to authorities as a “political fugitive” from the Hugo Chávez regime. But what he might have failed to disclose to immigration agents about his case is the background that allegedly links him to the darkest side of the Bolivarian regime and the mafia.
The existing evidence about the merchant’s activities reportedly allowed U.S. prosecutors to connect the dots regarding how various drug traffickers, including “Loco Barrera” and Venezuelan drug lord Walid Makled, managed to launder vast fortunes from Venezuela, through personal alliances with established businessmen in South America, Panama, Andorra, the Dominican Republic, China, and some tax havens, as revealed by an investigation by DIARIO LAS AMÉRICAS.
Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and prosecutors in Miami are probing the connections Gebran may have had with former Venezuelan Vice President Tareck el Aissami and one of his frontmen, businessman Samark López Bello.
These links date back well before the current number two of the Venezuelan regime was minister of the interior (2008-2012) and later governor of Aragua state (2012-2017) in the central region of the country.
In January 2017, the Treasury Department sanctioned El Aissami for “providing assistance for drug trafficking” in connection with powerful international drug lords, including “Loco Barrera.” López Bello was also included on that list as a “frontman” for the vice president.
For decades, “Loco Barrera” produced hundreds of tons of cocaine in Colombia and transported it to various parts of the world, including the U.S., earning tens of millions of dollars in profits from this activity, in alliance with Colombian guerrillas. After his detention in Venezuela, his empire began to crumble, and he is reputed to have revealed much to U.S. prosecutors.
According to Florida state records, before his stay in Miami, Gebran associated with Venezuelan businessmen and established at least half a dozen companies in various sectors.
Some of these companies, whether operational or not, are under his ownership or in partnerships with family and friends whose names appear in the records related to the case in Venezuela. U.S. prosecutors are already handling the case.
In fact, the name of one of his associates appears in the case file established in Venezuela, and although Gebran has denied any connection, federal and commercial records in Florida expose financial links with “Loco Barrera.”
The allegations against Gebran— to which this newspaper has gained access and whose sources are reserved— indicate that he became an importer of luxury vehicles, which he provided to his contacts to launder money and gain favors.
Miami prosecutors reportedly possess evidence and testimony suggesting that Gebran moved massive amounts of money through different companies, banks, and holdings, using López Bello to execute several operations. One of the key companies would be Yakima Oil Company, established in Panama and the UK and sanctioned by the Treasury Department in 2017.
“In the records of Yakima Oil Company, Gebran does not appear, although it was unnecessary for him to be shown in them, as other companies indirectly operated with López’s businesses, handling only cash, which was often transported by plane to Venezuela under Gebran’s guard,” indicated one of the testimonies from a source who wished to remain anonymous for safety.
“Gebran transported the money from the U.S. on planes, that was one of his jobs,” he stated.
According to the same account, when Venezuelan authorities initiated proceedings against Gebran on October 9, 2012, besides confiscating luxury vehicles like Mercedes Benz, Hummer, Porsche, Jeep, Camaro, and BMW—which he couldn’t prove its legality, per the official accusations—during the inspection, they found materials to forge official documents and high-caliber firearms.
Among seals from a dozen state agencies (National Guard, police forces, customs, tax office, ports), what alarmed Venezuelan authorities the most was the possession of letterheads from various Venezuelan consulates in the U.S., including the one in Miami, which was closed in January 2012 by Chávez’s order.
This last element, along with other serious allegations and evidence, would have compounded Gebran’s offenses that might prompt U.S. prosecutors to act under their authority. Public records show that no formal case has been opened yet.
Upon initial contact with this newspaper to gather his impressions on the investigation, Gebran denied all allegations against him and linked them to a campaign by his enemies: “I don’t know Tareck El Aissami. I don’t know Loco Barrera, nor do I have planes.” He did not respond to subsequent calls and messages for further discussion on various topics.
The principal ruling from Venezuelan justice against Gebran was that, together with his partner, Rodolfo Raschid Velasco Kassem, he facilitated one of his two alleged private planes to Germán Arenas Rodríguez and his wife—also accused of being “Loco Barrera’s” frontmen—to escape from authorities.
In Arenas’ particular case, the Venezuelan Public Ministry has yet to present a conclusive action in his case. He remains an accused or indicated of having committed a crime, but for health reasons, was granted humanitarian release.
After a defense, reportedly financed by Gebran to clear his name, arguing that he was accused without concrete evidence, several judicial resources, interviews, and news articles emerged in recent years attempting to portray him as a political fugitive from Chávez’s regime.
Velasco Kassem was arrested by Venezuelan police and remanded in custody in January 2013. After nearly four years in prison, he obtained conditional release following a public trial. By that time, Gebran was already in the U.S., and in light of his escape and the gathered evidence, Venezuelan authorities sought to issue an Interpol Red Notice for his arrest.
According to the Venezuelan judicial file, the central point of the case revolves around the use of an aircraft belonging to Gebran, which a frontman of “Loco Barrera” allegedly used to escape the country.
The Venezuelan anti-narcotic office seized two planes located in the businessman’s hangar in the main airport serving the city of Barquisimeto in northeastern Venezuela. Among them was the one used for the frontman’s escape. This is where the story begins to unravel, revealing a chain of mysteries surrounding Gebran that ultimately corner him.
The two aircraft registered in the United States were a Gates Lear Jet, model 25C, registration N611CH, owned by Gallery Aviation INC, a company based in Miami; and a Cessna 421C bearing the registration N25MT, belonging to Luxury Auto Sales USA INC, also registered in this city.
Both now-inoperative companies are represented by Venezuelan-American citizen Nicolás Aular Parra, whose connection to Gebran has been denied throughout the judicial process in Venezuela. However, Florida commercial records contradict this version.
For six years, Aular Parra has maintained business ties with Gebran’s wife and parents in at least two companies, alongside Gebran’s principal partner, who also does business with Gebran’s family through various automotive companies.
Public records reveal that Aular Parra linked with Gebran’s main partner in the company Luxury Auto Sales, owner of the seized Cessna aircraft, according to FAA files accessed by this newspaper through an official request.
“Gebran and his U.S. partner’s strategy was to claim the planes confiscated by Venezuela through Aular Parra, and for this, the Venezuelan-American was linked to Luxury Auto Sales a year after the incident, to apply increased pressure due to his status as an American national,” recounted one source with access to documents from the case.
The records of the Lear Jet 25C, allegedly used for the escape of the frontmen according to Venezuelan accusations, show that on May 24, 2011, the service company Noble Jet, Inc., based out of Fort Lauderdale, submitted an invoice for the maintenance of this aircraft from Inverso Gebran C.A., a company owned by Gebran registered in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.
The cost amounted to $61,605.34, a sum that at the time had not been paid. In this sense, Gebran was at least responsible for the maintenance of one of the mentioned aircraft.
In Miami, prosecutors would indicate that the planes in question were frequently used by Gebran and his family for trips between Venezuela and the U.S., and that this was the key reason the Venezuelan anti-narcotics authorities confiscated them, viewing him as a frontman for “Loco Barrera.”
In 2014, following a complex drug trafficking case involving Gebran, one of the pilots who had previously flown planes for him was arrested and prosecuted in the U.S. His allegations could bear witness to the usage and ownership of the aircraft servicing the businessman.
The mystery surrounding the twin-engine aircraft grew on August 25, 2015, when the FAA received a request for a change of registration for the Gates Lear Jet (allegedly employed for the escape of frontmen), which shifted from control under Gallery Aviation Inc. to the domain of trustee Solomon Mark Trustee, in Delaware.
States like Delaware require minimal information on corporate members and offer greater privacy with tax benefits. However, some records are public in the Delaware Division of Corporations. In this case, the search yielded no information on Solomon Mark Trustee that matched FAA reports.
“Gebran and his main partner in the U.S. resorted to using a third party, who ended up becoming a partner of both, in a strategic effort to dissociate the two seized aircraft from illicit drug trafficking activities and thereby absolve Gebran from any criminal liability,” recounted a judicial source familiar with the process.
In early 2011, groups of companies in Miami and China were reportedly created to move and hold illicit funds, with Gebran possibly involved in one of them.
Latam Technological Solutions LLC, registered in Miami by Antonio Arvelaiz and with branches in Hong Kong, was reported to have moved significant sums of illegal money. Subsequently, a drilling parts supply company in China was allegedly established under both this businessman and Gebran’s name and was purportedly used to launder money from fraudulent contracts with the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
Arvelaiz Idler, a Venezuelan businessman accused of fraud and convicted in the U.S., has a direct relationship with individuals implicated in investigations against El Aissami, Gebran, and Chavismo frontmen.
As a dairy businessman, Arvelaiz was oppressed by Chávez’s regime after opposing his state policies in the agricultural sector and expropriations. This case resonated in Venezuelan media.
In 2011, his house and vehicle were shot at by unknown assailants. After fleeing to the U.S. with his family to seek asylum, he was arrested three years later for fraud. He has reportedly been cooperating with authorities for some time.
The axis of Gebran’s business between Venezuela and the U.S. appears to be the importation of high-end vehicles, which were introduced and paid for in dollars within the South American country, despite the strict currency controls prevailing there.
For the past three years, Gebran has been on the radar of a group of money laundering investigators in Venezuela, who have gathered evidence of his operations and contacts.
On this convoluted task of imports from Miami, U.S. prosecutors are aware of the relationship between Gebran and Luis Alfredo Véliz, a former official at the Venezuelan Consulate in Miami, who is under investigation for a series of reported frauds against him.
Véliz, a member of the Venezuelan Army who assisted as a collaborator to then-Consul General Antonio Hernández Burgo in Miami, “facilitated the shipment of vehicles of dubious origin to Venezuela disguised within luggage, with Gebran being the beneficiary,” stated one of the testimonies.
The illicit operations surrounding Gebran regarding car imports were confirmed by Venezuelan authorities when the formal file was established to issue an Interpol Red Notice ordering his arrest “as it was determined that he is involved in the importation of vehicles of dubious origin,” the judicial document indicated.
A batch of these luxury vehicles was seized in the criminal proceedings against the businessman in Venezuela. In exchange for these businesses, “Véliz received lucrative commissions taking part in the sale of the vehicles,” quoted one source.
Dealers of yachts and luxury cars at various Miami locations are believed to have been utilized for the purchase of at least a dozen vehicles, according to case reports. The acquisitions included BMW, Porsche, Range Rover, Ferrari, Audi, along with boats that were paid for in cash to later export to Venezuela.
“In these operations, Mr. Véliz facilitated the shipments with fraudulent acts through the Venezuelan consulate in Miami,” stated one of the testimonies.
Accusations against El Aissami gained momentum in the U.S. as Miami and New York prosecutors uncovered direct or indirect relationships with other drug trafficking cases implicating the Chavista leader.
The DEA declined to comment on Gebran’s case, but referencing Colombian drug lord “Loco Barrera,” who had ties with El Aissami according to the Treasury Department, “his capture and sentencing to 35 years in prison was a step in the right direction,” said Melvin Paterson, the agency’s spokesperson.
Regarding those who collaborated with Barrera’s empire, Paterson stated, “our mission is to fight against criminal organizations and the key members that compose them, [who are] involved in the cultivation, manufacture, or distribution of drugs (…) and that’s why we’ll bring them to justice.”
David S. Weinstein, a prominent former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Florida, explained that “the fact that criminals might not know they are working for [then] Vice President does not exempt them from responsibility. Given how the organization has been structured, this generally does not mean that all parts are connected with one another.”
“In fact,” he added, “these organizations are highly fragmented. It is the norm, and I am not suggesting that this is the true reason in this story, but at the very top of the organization, as an anomaly, the higher-ups don’t know who they’re talking to, who is at the lowest level. They don’t know who manages or controls things.”
Weinstein was head of the Narcotics Section in Miami-Dade County and his experience shows that cases like Gebran’s are “typical because no one knows who the top boss is in the end.”
As Gebran’s alleged asylum application proceeds, considering the case’s history, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) declined to comment on these matters “to avoid jeopardizing any case elements involving an asylum seeker and the U.S. government,” stated Ana Santiago, a spokesperson for this office.
Figures from the Venezuelan opposition have denounced how in recent years dozens of Chavismo leaders and their frontmen have taken refuge in the U.S. under the guise of being supposed investors or exiles fleeing the regime in Venezuela.
According to USCIS figures, during the first quarter of 2018, around 7,610 Venezuelans applied for political asylum in the U.S., leading the list of requests for the year. Discerning who is honest and who isn’t is a complex task.