The Prosecutor’s Office raided today the home of the former Vice-Minister of Finance Jesus Bermudez. Bermudez was detained in the US prior to Christmas as he attempted to go in the US with over US$ 37,000 in cash, wish he said were for “Christmas shopping”. Last week Bermudez pleaded guilty in the US and was sentenced to three days in jail and a fine of US$ 250. While there have been reports that Bermudez had returned to Venezuela, my understanding is that he remains in the US and has no plans to return.
This is another test case for the Government in its fight against corruption, as Bermudez clearly can not explain his lifestyle. I was actually quite surprised by how much money Bermudez made as a Vice-Minister, it is interesting how the revolution has increased the salary of Government official’s to levels unheard of in previous Venezuelan history. (Note: As noted by a reader, the President of the Venezuelan Supreme Court just retired with a salary of US$ 10 K per month, which is paid to him 20 times a year and is adjusted any time the new President of the Court has his salary increased, that is a total of $200 K at the official exchange rate. I was a civil servant for 24 years, reaching the highest levels of salary in the country’s civil service and never made more than $2 K a month even in the best of times. Another triumph of the Chavez revolution?)
According to Bermudez’ filing in the US, he made less than US$ 500 K in the last five years in the Ministry, but the house that was raided today would cost no less than that, even if it was not clear whether he owned it or not, but it was located in La Lagunita, one of the two most expensive areas to live in Caracas. Thus, Bermudez has to explain the US$ 37,000 in cash, the house and we still have not heard a coherent explanation for the private jet that he used when going to the US in December. While Bermudez said it was a Government jet belonging to a Government owned company for which he was a consultant, this was immediately denied by Vice-President Rangel at the time. So, who owned that plane? How did Bermudez buy his home if it was his? How could he have so much cash?
The Government now has two cases of blatant corruption in his hands: Vargas and Bermudez. Hopefully, this time around it will be more than just hot air surrounding these cases.
The Devil's Excrement 
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