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<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element" dir="ltr"> <font
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href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/06/19/guaidos-star-fades-as-his-envoys-to-colombia-allegedly-commit-fraud-with-humanitarian-funds-for-venezuela/">https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/06/19/guaidos-star-fades-as-his-envoys-to-colombia-allegedly-commit-fraud-with-humanitarian-funds-for-venezuela/</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">Guaidó’s Star Fades as His Envoys to
Colombia Allegedly Commit Fraud With Humanitarian Funds for
Venezuela</h1>
<span class="post_author_intro">by</span> <span
class="post_author" itemprop="author"><a
href="https://www.counterpunch.org/author/gaspeme111/"
rel="nofollow">William Camacaro - Frederick B. Mills</a> -
June 19, 2019</span></div>
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<p>In an <a
href="https://es.panampost.com/orlando-avendano/2019/06/14/enviados-de-guaido-se-apropian-de-fondos-para-ayuda-humanitaria-en-colombia/?cn-reloaded=1">investigative
report</a>, “Envoys of Guaidó Appropriate Funds for
Humanitarian Assistance in Colombia” (June 14, 2019),
Editor in Chief of <i>PanAm Post</i>, Orlando Avendaño,
details the alleged “diversion of money, embezzlement of
funds, inflation of bills, fraud, and threats [by
representatives of self proclaimed president of
Venezuela, Juan Guaidó] in order to surround themselves
with luxuries.” (1)</p>
<p>These allegations of fraud committed by functionaries
of Guaidó in Colombia are raising alarm within the
fractured Venezuelan opposition about the political
damage this might do to their cause, but for critics of
the US backed shadow Venezuelan government, this is just
the tip of the iceberg, with the expectation of more
such revelations of fraud to come.</p>
<p>Among a trove of documentary evidence, including
itemized invoices, Avendaño provides a copy of a letter
from Guaidó to Carlos Holmes Trujillo Garcia, Minister
of Foreign Relations of the Republic of Colombia, dated
February 24, 2019. In the letter, Guaidó designates
Kevin Rojas and Rossana Barrera, both members of the
right wing opposition Venezuelan political party,
Voluntad Popular (VP), to “attend to the situation” of
Venezuelan military personnel and civilians who “enter
Colombian territory seeking help and refuge.” Avendaño
points out that “Rossana Barrera is the sister-in-law of
National Assembly Deputy of the party Voluntad Popular,
Sergio Vergara, right hand man of president Juan
Guaidó.” She was part of Guaidó’s inner circle.</p>
<p>To put Guaidó’s letter in context, we move our focus
for a moment to the frontier town of Cúcuta, Colombia,
which is just across the border from the Venezuelan town
of San Cristóbal, Táchira. (2) We return to the events
of February 23, 2019, that fateful day when US and
Colombian backed Guaidó and his supporters had planned
to force a convoy of “humanitarian aid” trucks over the
border, with the objective of scoring a propaganda
victory against the Maduro administration and inspiring
army defections, all as a prelude to a coup against the
constitutional government of Venezuela.</p>
<p>The US-Colombian-Venezuelan opposition alliance pulled
out all the stops; there was to be a media show on a
grand scale surrounding the actions in Cúcuta. A concert
fundraiser, Venezuela Live Aid, starring Richard
Branson, was held on February 22, and a media campaign
gave the impression that Guaidó’s aim was to deliver
“humanitarian assistance” for Venezuela. But the plan
began to unravel as soon as it commenced. The three
million dollars raised by the concert is still not
accounted for. And the majority of the food on the
trucks would end up rotting in place. Neither the
International Red Cross nor the United Nations would
lend credibility to Washington’s insistence that this
was a “humanitarian” mission. The whole project was
tainted by the obvious ulterior motive of attempting to
bring about regime change in Venezuela.</p>
<p>An important part of the plan was to inspire massive
army defections through carrot and stick pronouncements
emanating from Washington. It was presumably the last
chance for soldiers to avoid punishment and reap the
rewards of desertion. Though Guaidó promised to welcome
army deserters as heroes, the defections did not reflect
any serious breach in the Venezuelan military. It did
create a need, however, to coordinate and fund the room
and board of several hundred military personnel and
their families who answered the call. (3) According to
Avendaño’s sources, once housed at a seven area hotels,
some of these “heroes” of the shadow government were not
always on their best behavior:</p>
<p>“The small army on which the president [Guaidó]
counted, but until now gave a bad impression in Cúcuta.
Prostitutes, alcohol and violence. They demanded and
demanded. In the end, that was not for free.”</p>
<p>As the “humanitarian” funds started flowing to pay the
expenses being racked up by the military defectors as
well as the exorbitant spending of the envoy’s charged
with overseeing those payments, an international media
campaign gave the impression that President Nicolás
Maduro was opposed to receiving humanitarian assistance.
Although Maduro was not about to welcome the Trojan
Horse from Cúcuta, there had been and continues to be
ongoing deliveries of <i>authentic </i>humanitarian
aid coordinated by UN agencies as well as the
International Red Cross. And two weeks after initial
false reports in the Western media that Maduro’s forces
were responsible for setting aid trucks on fire on the
Francisco de Paula Santander bridge, it was finally
acknowledged by the <a
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/10/world/americas/venezuela-aid-fire-video.html">New
York Times</a> on March 10th that video evidence
shows it was most likely Guaidó supporters whose molotov
cocktails, inadvertently or not, caused the fires. (4)</p>
<p>In the aftermath of the “humanitarian aid” debacle of
February 23, Guaidó still had a promise to keep to
several hundred defectors and their families. According
to documents provided to Avendaño by Colombian
Intelligence, Guaidó’s emissaries were in charge of the
disbursement of funds to cover the cost of military
deserters and their families staying at two of seven
hotels. He alleges that Barrera and Rojas
misappropriated funds slated for humanitarian purposes
to party and surround themselves with luxuries.</p>
<p>“Colombian Intelligence was the first to specify the
anomaly. They brought me the evidence. Invoices that
show excesses and, several, very strange, of different
checkbooks, signed the same day and with identical
handwriting styles. Almost all without a seal. Costs
exceeding three million pesos a night at Colombian
hotels and nightclubs. Some one thousand dollars in food
and drink. Spending on clothing in very expensive stores
in Bogotá and in Cúcuta. Reports of vehicle rentals and
payments to overpriced hotels. The money flowed. Lots of
money.”</p>
<p><b>Fallout from the PanAm Post Report</b></p>
<p>Within a matter of hours Avendaño’s report had spread
on social media; major Venezuelan newspapers from across
the political spectrum carried headlines with calls by
some opposition figures to conduct an audit of the
expenses in question. These allegations of corruption,
coming from a right of center media outlet were not to
be taken lightly.</p>
<p><a
href="http://www.noticierodigital.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=129118">Voluntad
Popular</a> (VP), which finds itself at the center of
the maelstrom, issued a statement calling into question
the charges made in the <i>PanAm Post</i>, declaring
that “the interim government does not manage
international funds of humanitarian assistance.” VP
stated: “The funds were and are managed by the
governments of Colombia and the USA, agencies of
cooperation, international non-governmental
organizations (ONG), among others. But the National
Assembly (AN) did not administer funds in Colombia for
humanitarian materials.” Nevertheless, the charges and
the evidence presented against some of their associates
are somewhat compelling. So it is not surprising that
VP has also joined calls for an investigation in order
“to get to the bottom of things.” (5)</p>
<p>The centrist Venezuelan periodical <a
href="https://www.eluniversal.com.co/colombia/guaido-pide-a-colombia-investigar-supuesta-corrupcion-de-sus-delegados-FK1286623">El
Universal</a> reported on June 15 that Guaidó himself
called on Colombian intelligence to investigate the
alleged corruption of his envoys. (6) Guaidó tweeted:
“Delegation in Colombia has managed with austerity and
economic limitations situation of military personnel in
that country. In the face of denunciations, I ask
Ambassador Humberto Calderón Berti to formally request
from Colombian intelligence agencies the necessary
investigation. Transparency first of all!” Berti
responded that an investigation had already been
underway and that he was “working on the final phase of
an audit of this lamentable and sultry case.” The
problem with an audit by Berti is that, according to
Avendaño, Berti provided a payment to one of the hotels
out of his personal finances, and his check ended up
bouncing. This means he himself ought to be included in
any investigation.</p>
<p>By June 17 this story was well known in Venezuela but
back burner news in the US. Venezuela’s <a
href="https://www.globovision.com/article/venezuela-ayuda-humanitaria-tambien-incluye-alcohol-y-prostitutas">Globovisión</a>
ran the headline, Venezuela: “Humanitarian Assistance
also includes alcohol and prostitutes?.” (7) The scandal
is now in full swing and Guaidó, who just a few months
ago was the darling of Washington and the Lima Group, is
now in hot water, and some of his closest associates are
running for cover.</p>
<p>Guaidó’s biggest political backer, however, still has
no shame. In a <a
href="https://twitter.com/Almagro_OEA2015/status/1139658418573234179">tweet</a>
on June 14, Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro,
who has been a regime change fanatic, said:</p>
<p>“We ask the competent jurisdiction for an investigation
that clarifies the serious charges formulated here,
determine responsibilities and demand accountability.
There is no possible democratization under the opacity
of acts of corruption”. (8)</p>
<p>Coming from the General Secretary’s office, this likely
faithfully conveys the State Department position on this
particular issue.</p>
<p>Almagro’s tweet does raise an important question. What
would be the “competent jurisdiction” to carry out such
an investigation? What body has the democratic and legal
credentials to carry out this urgent and important task?
The OAS has lost such “competence” by allowing Almagro
to use the multilateral organization to attack Venezuela
and promote the confiscation of billions in Venezuelan
assets.</p>
<p>What about Colombian intelligence which was reportedly
not happy with the situation and was a major source for
Avendaño’s article? Although Colombian Intelligence
obviously has important evidence, and therefore ought to
be part of a credible investigation, Colombia cannot
serve as a “competent jurisdiction” because President
Iván Duque has allied himself too closely with Guaidó to
inspire confidence. And the US, which used “humanitarian
assistance” in February as a pretext for advancing
regime change, does not project moral authority in
either Bogota or Caracas. If the investigation is
conducted by a UN body, it may get credible results.</p>
<p>The government of Venezuela has indicated that it had
already sought to expose Guaido’s faction within the
opposition as a corrupt terrorist organization months
before the <i>PanAm Post</i> revelations. <a
href="https://www.laiguana.tv/articulos/502281-ministro-jorge-rodriguez-robo-escandalo-ayuda-humanitaria-pruebas/">Jorge
Rodríguez</a>, Communications Minister of Venezuela,
gave a press conference on Monday providing more details
relevant to this case, including the involvement of
other members of Guiado’s inner circle in the scandal.
(9) According to Rodríguez, there was also a diversion
of funds to recruit mercenaries from other countries to
wreak havoc inside Venezuela. In another press
conference with President Maduro that same day, <a
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AEE4flR9qI&feature=youtu.be">Rodríguez</a>
also alluded to a possible upcoming investigation by the
US Department of Justice of allegations of corruption
involving those assigned to direct CITGO on behalf of
the shadow government. (10)</p>
<p><b>Political Implications: Time for Washington to
Change Course</b></p>
<p>This <i>PanAm Post</i> article adds fuel to the fire
of growing skepticism about the viability of the US
backed Venezuelan shadow government, especially on the
heels of self proclaimed president Juan Guaido’s failure
to inspire a popular uprising, divide the military, or
gain democratic legitimacy inside the Bolivarian
Republic. It appears that most of Guaidó’s political
leverage comes from the devastating toll wrought by US
economic sanctions and the continuing threat of US
military intervention. Both factors have caused growing
antipathy inside Venezuela towards those conspiring to
overthrow the government of President Nicolás Maduro and
surrender the nation to US influence.</p>
<p>Corruption is no doubt a problem in both the private
and public sectors in Venezuela. But this is an issue
for Venezuelans to resolve. The <i>PanAm Post</i>
report heightens the skepticism about what is happening
to the billions in Venezuelan assets confiscated by the
US to fund a corrupt client shadow government. And it is
raising the temperature of indignation among those
suffering the consequences of US economic sanctions
while Guaidó and his inner circle live the high life in
Bogota, Miami and Madrid. It is time for the US to
change course and re-establish diplomatic ties with the
Maduro administration which remains open to dialogue
with Washington.</p>
<p><em>Note: Translations by the authors from Spanish to
English are unofficial.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>End notes</em></strong></p>
<p>(1) <a
href="https://es.panampost.com/orlando-avendano/2019/06/14/enviados-de-guaido-se-apropian-de-fondos-para-ayuda-humanitaria-en-colombia/?cn-reloaded=1">https://es.panampost.com/orlando-avendano/2019/06/14/enviados-de-guaido-se-apropian-de-fondos-para-ayuda-humanitaria-en-colombia/?cn-reloaded=1</a>.
Brackets added; Avendaño actually refers to Guaidó as
“president” of Venezuela.<br>
See <a
href="https://albaciudad.org/2019/06/panampost-emisarios-juan-guaido-corrupcion-ayuda-humanitaria-colombia/">Luigino
Bracci Roa</a> (June 15, 2019 Alba Ciudad) for a good
summary of this <i>PanAm Post</i> article, and an
English translation of this summary published by the <a
href="https://orinocotribune.com/guaidos-representatives-involved-in-corruption-scandal-in-colombia-humanitarian-aid">Orinoco
Tribune</a> (June 16, 2019).</p>
<p>(2) This borderland is the site of linked commerce. For
example, when the sanctions cause gasoline shortages in
Venezuela, the hardship is felt just as much in Cúcuta.
On the Colombian-Venezuelan border economy, see <a
href="http://www.coha.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Venezuela-Takes-Control-of-Its-Borders-as-Bogota-and-Caracas-Bring-Their-Cases-to-UNASUR.pdf">Mills
and Camacaro</a></p>
<p>(3) According to Avendaño, not all deserters were
active duty soldiers coming in from Venezuela: “In view
of the juicy offer of financial support, military
personnel who had emigrated to Peru or Ecuador, old
functionaries, civilians with falsified documents,
presented themselves in Cúcuta to proclaim their
presumed support for the new Government of the
Venezuelan opposition.” <em>PanAm Post</em>, June 14,
2019.</p>
<p>(4) <a
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/10/world/americas/venezuela-aid-fire-video.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/10/world/americas/venezuela-aid-fire-video.html</a></p>
<p>(5) <a
href="http://www.noticierodigital.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=129118">http://www.noticierodigital.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=129118</a></p>
<p>(6) <a
href="https://www.eluniversal.com.co/colombia/guaido-pide-a-colombia-investigar-supuesta-corrupcion-de-sus-delegados-FK1286623">https://www.eluniversal.com.co/colombia/guaido-pide-a-colombia-investigar-supuesta-corrupcion-de-sus-delegados-FK1286623</a>. Guaidó’s
tweet, original Spanish: Delegación en Colombia ha
manejado con austeridad y limitaciones económicas
situación de militares en ese país. Ante denuncias, pido
al embajador Humberto Calderón Berti solicitar
formalmente a organismos de inteligencia colombiana la
investigación necesaria. íTransparencia ante todo!</p>
<p>(7) <a
href="https://www.globovision.com/article/venezuela-ayuda-humanitaria-tambien-incluye-alcohol-y-prostitutas">https://www.globovision.com/article/venezuela-ayuda-humanitaria-tambien-incluye-alcohol-y-prostitutas</a></p>
<p>(8) <a
href="https://twitter.com/Almagro_OEA2015/status/1139658418573234179">https://twitter.com/Almagro_OEA2015/status/1139658418573234179</a>.
Original Spanish: Solicitamos a jurisdicción competente
investigación esclarecedora de graves cargos aquí
formulados, determinar responsabilidades y exigir
rendición de cuentas. No hay democratización posible
bajo la opacidad de actos de corrupción.</p>
<p>(9) <a
href="https://www.laiguana.tv/articulos/502281-ministro-jorge-rodriguez-robo-escandalo-ayuda-humanitaria-pruebas/">https://www.laiguana.tv/articulos/502281-ministro-jorge-rodriguez-robo-escandalo-ayuda-humanitaria-pruebas/</a></p>
<p>(10) <a
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AEE4flR9qI&feature=youtu.be">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AEE4flR9qI&feature=youtu.be</a></p>
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