Image from Semana magazine
One of the puzzles over the last decade, has been the timid attitude of the US Government towards corrupt Venezuelan officials, who roam around the US enjoying their ill-gotten gains. In fact, it is known that some of them, have turned evidence in exchange for being allowed to stay in the US or not prosecuted. Despite this, it just seems as if over the years, it was all an intelligence gathering operation with no follow up.
That may have changed this week.
After an effort was apparently rebuffed by the Obama administration to impose sanctions on Venezuelan Government officials, the US Government has clearly and quietly gone on the offensive this week.
First, it was former Judge Benni Palmeri Bacchi, who arrived in Miami in a private plane (like so many current and former Chavista officials like to fly) with his family to enjoy two weeks of supposedly a pre-paid vacation in Disney World, Orlando. Instead, Palmeri was charged with protecting Colombian drug traffickers by allowing them to fly cocaine shipments to the US.
But the big fish, not to say the big chicken, was General Hugo “Pollo” Carvajal, who was detained in Aruba when he arrived, also in a private plane, purportedly owned by a relative, and tried to use one of at least two, if not four Venezuelans passports he was carrying (As well as US$ 20,000 in cash, that he obtained via no official source in Venezuela). You see Carvajal was nominated to be the Venezuelan Consul in that Caribbean island, but the Government of The Netherlands had yet to approve it, making his diplomatic immunity non-existent. And adding to his problems the US started including Carvajal in its drugpin list in 2008, as you can read here.
And if Carvajal is ever extradited to the US, he is in serious trouble. While the news concentrates on his relations to drug groups, Carvajal was involved with drug/terrorist organization FARC and in the infamous Reyes computers Carvajal is said to have offered the FARC terrorist weapons, as well as lists of prominent Venezuelans to kidnap.
And if Carvajal is ever extradited, that is where his problems begin. Once he is in US soil, the charges could quickly shift from the drug angle to the terrorism one and Carvajal could be taken away from the DEA’s hand and Guantanamoed for the rest of his life. He could be jailed in a maximum security prison for more years than his life expectancy will allow.
And I say “if”, because many things could happen to Carvajal. Maduro has already say that he fully backs Carvajal, who was “kidnapped” by Aruba’s authorities, threatening the tiny island with economic, energetic and commercial sanctions.
So, you can bet that right now there is a many front effort by Venezuela to get Carvajal freed, just the same way there is a full court press by the US and the Dutch Government to get him extradited ASAP.
The only question is who gets to or finds the weakest link first. The weakest link could be an official that can be bought, a Judge that can be influenced and voilà Carvajal could show up in La Carlota, Miami International or Schipol.
The US is likely to be applying lots of pressure to get Carvajal off Aruba as fast as possible. The island likely has the weakest links in the process, the question is whether it can pull the required strings fast enough.
It will be a very entertaining movie to watch the next few days. But no matter what happens, it is clear that the US has initiated a new era in its relations with Chavista Venezuela and that many a Chavista official or beneficiary of Chavista corruption must be trembling today facing the impossibility of enjoying their ill-gotten gains in Disney World. Their impunity in traveling around and moving funds around is over. From now on, each step has to be watched and considered.
Or else..
The Devil's Excrement 