Tag Archives: Walid Makled

Sep
21
2012
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The Venezuelan Election Deserves Our Attention

Forbes
September 21, 2012
By Doug Schoen

4b3f7cfa9709bddca3dcc2bb73a0c167 The Venezuelan Election Deserves Our Attention

Courtesy of: AP

There is a crucial election about to take place in Venezuela. Basic issues of freedom and economic liberty are at stake for the Venezuelan people. And with Venezuela being both our largest oil provider and a chief anti-American aggressor with alliances in Iran, Syria and Russia amongst others, this election is not only critical for us but much more so than policymakers in DC have acknowledged or realized.

Democratic challenger Henrique Capriles could surely change the direction of the Venezuela. He is poised to serve as a much-needed positive force in shaping Venezuela’s future as a cooperative member of the international community if he is elected on October 7th.

The head of Venezuela’s oil workers union, the United Federation of Oil Workers, said just yesterday that his members are not even entertaining the idea of a Chavez defeat. “It is impossible for Capriles to win this year…We the working class will not allow it.”

But while some in the state run oil industry look to Chavez as a savior of their industry, he has been involved in a number of dangerous and unsavory pursuits over the years that bring a black cloud over his administration and its business. Chavez has been linked to major narcoterrorists, including Walid Makled who was designated a major drug kingpin by the Obama administration in 2009 and is a financial stalwart of Chavez’s administration. In fact, dozens of top-level figures in the Chavez government including ministers, judges and generals were on Makled’s payroll.

Roger Noriega, former US Ambassador to the Organization of American States, delivered chilling testimony to the Congressional Subcommittee on Counterterrorism wherein he detailed Venezuela’s support of Hezbollah in Latin America. And it is well known that Chavez is actively working against American interests in Latin America while he bankrupts his country in pursuit of a radical socialist agenda.

In contrast, challenger Capriles is a true democrat. A successful governor of the state of Miranda, he is a capitalist who is focused on de-politicizing Venezuela, a much needed change.

He represents a new generation of the Venezuelan political class that supports America and wants to work in genuine partnership. As a practicing Roman Catholic and a child of the Holocaust, he is acutely aware of and concerned with issues of freedom and equity, both crucial areas for the future of Venezuela.

To be sure, Capriles faces an uphill battle. Chavez has proven he will do anything, say anything, or undermine the integrity and independence of any institution to stay in power. It is therefore imperative that there be international recognition that Chavez has cheated in past elections and that he very well may cheat again. The polls are currently showing a wide range of results from a two-point advantage for Capriles to as much as a 20-point advantage for Chavez. The reality is that the two candidates are probably very close.

Chavez is convinced that he will win the election. Two weeks ago he said, “Capriles will no longer be able to surmount [the lead], even if he gets on a missile, or two, or 10…it is impossible for them to win this election. It is absolutely impossible, mathematically impossible.”

I’ve written in the past about how Chavez cheated in the 2004 referendum, which has been verified by outside, independent auditors. And indeed, there have occasionally been times that he has stood down, acknowledged defeat and moved to change the constitution like the 2007 referendum.

But the instances of Chavez circumventing the democratic process for his own personal gain far outnumber the cases where he has accepted defeat. It follows that the world must focus on this election so he cannot cheat again, a reality that has been widely predicted.

One of the keys to ensuring a free and fair election in Venezuela next month is Ambassador Diego Arria. Ambassador Arria has long pursued a lonely mission of trying to make the case of Venezuela’s importance on the world stage.

As the Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the United Nations, he predicted the Bosnian genocide in Srebrenica before it happened. And he created the “Arria Formula”, an informal consultation process that affords members of the UN Security Council the opportunity to hear persons in a confidential, informal setting which has become integral to the Security Council process.

It is critically important that Ambassador Arria continues to do his work in order to prevent Chavez from stealing yet another election and, again, consigning the Venezuelan people to further years of deprivation and poverty.

Ambassador Arria is a towering intellect and a world-class figure, a true supporter of democracy. He is playing the role of key liaison to the US and other governments around the world for Capriles and the forces of democracy in Venezuela. He is one of those genuine heroes who has effectively worked to make peace in the world and has dedicated himself to this cause for decades.

An unapologetic democrat, Ambassador Arria is working to make sure the world knows what is at stake in Venezuela. To be sure, the stakes couldn’t be higher and it is high time that the international community took notice.

To read this article on Forbes, please click here.

 
Apr
19
2012
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Former Venezuelan Judge Suggests Drug Trafficking By Government Officials

Typically, when international experts, foreign governments and Venezuelan citizens talk about the rising crime in Venezuela, it’s in regard to the rampant violence that has made the country as dangerous as some conflict zones. Even the U.S. State Department has warned citizens traveling to Venezuela of the purported dangers. However, more and more, the governments in both the U.S. and Venezuela are turning their attention to the “worrying trends” emerging in Venezuela’s illegal narcotics trade.

Now, a former Venezuelan judge has suggested to U.S. investigators that prominent figures in Venezuela’s government are involved in drug trafficking operations.

In testimony given before the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Tuesday, Eladio Aponte Aponte, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Venezuela, has implied that senior officers of the armed forces and even leaders of the Chávez government are complicit in drug trafficking operations.

According to one source, Aponte said the drug trafficking operations are run directly by Henry Rangel Silva, the Venezuelan Minister of Defense; General Cliver Alcalá, commander of the Fourth Armored Division of the Army; and Diosdado Cabello, president of the National Assembly and one of President Hugo Chávez’s closest allies.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of Treasury Department was already aware of Alcalá’s and Silva’s alleged links to drug trafficking and terrorist organizations.

aponte Former Venezuelan Judge Suggests Drug Trafficking By Government Officials

Aponte arrived in the U.S. from Costa Rica, where he had been since Apr. 2. He was himself implicated in the drug conspiracy, and was dismissed as a judge on March 20 for alleged ties to accused trafficker Walid Makled. His whereabouts between his dismissal from the Supreme Court and his appearance in Costa Rica remain unknown.

The National Assembly removed Aponte from office after documents found in Makled’s apartment showed ties to the judge. Aponte gave Makled credentials that gave him access to court offices and the freedom to move around the country without restriction.

Makled is currently on trial in Caracas. He was extradited to Venezuela from Columbia after a series of diplomatic negotiations.

According to reports released by WikiLeaks, the Venezuelan military exerted pressure on Chávez to prevent Makled from being tried in the U.S. Senior army officers reportedly fear that Makled — who has already told media that senior army officers were directly involved in drug transport — might testify that the Venezuelan military aided his drug trafficking operation.

Economic issues often garner the most attention during an election season. But in this election year in Venezuela, crime is an equally important issue for most Venezuelans. If proven true, these alleged connections between the government’s top officials and narcotics trafficking could adversely impact the PSUV, who very well could lose the high ground in the debate about crime.

 
Sep
8
2011
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The SDN list continues to grow with Venezuelan newcomers

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls (OFAC), today placed four high-ranking Venezuelan officials on the list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) under the Kingpin Act for providing assistance to the Colombian terrorist group known as FARC.  The list was created to designate individuals who the United States has identified as participating in activities related to drug trafficking or terrorism.  The four Venezuelan newcomers are:

- Cliver Alcala Cordones, Major General of the Fourth Armored Division of the Venezuelan Army;
- Freddy Bernal, a prominent political ally of President Chavez who is currently a congressman for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and former Mayor of the Libertador municipality in Caracas;
- Amilcar Figueroa ,a deputy from the PSUV to the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO)
- Ramon Madriz Moreno, officer for the Venezuelan Intelligence Service (SEBIN).

Adam Szubin, OFAC director, said in a statement that “Today’s action exposes four Venezuelan government officials as key facilitators of arms, security, training and other assistance in support of the FARC’s operations in Venezuela. OFAC will continue to aggressively target the FARC’s support structures in Venezuela and throughout the region,”

These top-ranking officials join at least half a dozen other prominent Venezuelans who have been added to the SDN list for participating in drug or terror related activities. The others include Walid Makled, a business tycoon accused of running a major narco-trafficking operation; General Hugo Carvajal, Chief officer of the Military Intelligence Offices   for the Bolivarian Armed Forces;  Henry Rangel Silva, Chief of Operational Strategic Command for the Bolivarian Armed Forces; and Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, former minister of Interior Relations.

Inclusion on the list means that these individuals will have any assets they have in the U.S. frozen. It also prohibits U.S. citizens from dealing with the individuals on the list.