ExtraditionPalooza
We’ll go Down The Rabbit Hole in a minute but first…Wow! When it rains it pours. We’ve had this handful of extradition cases hanging around for some time and predictably the process in each case seemed to take forever. Then Chavez’s former treasurer was extradited at almost the same time as the high profile extradition of Alex Saab from Cape Verde.Saab is definitely the headliner but these other cases all have, potentially, a lot of damaging info to the Maduro regime. Now we have AA.com reporting that Spain’s National Court has given the OK to extradite former intelligence chief “The Chicken” to the US. So now, with Hugo Carvajal on his way we have three extraditions in about as many days. Now we just have to wait and see where all this leads. And remember, ExtrditionPalooza isn’t over. There are still a couple more out there so stay tuned.
In another extradition related story we have CPJ telling us that Venezuela has officially issued an arrest warrant for journalist Roberto Deniz and security forces raided his home. First we had the Chavistas announcing an investigation into Deniz on the same day Alex Saab’s extradition was green lighted. Now the arrest warrant for one of the Saab story breakers is out there in a predictable tit for tat by Chavismo. Also, in another blatantly transparent move, the Maduro regime has asked INTERPOL to issue a “red notice” allowing Deniz to be arrested and held for extradition back to Venezuela from Colombia. I wouldn’t get too excited though. We’ve been down this road with the Chavistas before. They have a habit of making big demands and nobody really paying much attention as they are seriously lacking in credibility.
In another illuminating report we have W Radio telling us that journalist Daniel Coronell published a letter from former Maduro regime Minister, Jorge Arreaza, to Alex Saab saying “…obligated to keep the highest level of secrecy,confidentiality, and loyalty regarding the classified information.” Hmmm… It’s also worth noting that Alex Saab’s family is in Venezuela. Repercussions?
This one isn’t an extradition story because this guy is already in the slammer but it’s interesting nonetheless. Former treasurer for the regime, Alejandro Andrade, just had his prison sentence in Florida reduced by 65%. Another hmmm… What’s going on there? Andrade didn’t have to be extradited as he was already living the high profile life in Miami with the prerequisite mansion,racehorses, condos, etc. At his trial it was revealed that Andrade took $1 billion in bribes and had $11 billion in bank accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere. This may bear watching along with the others as we try to figure out what happened to the 300-600 billion dollars (or more) that were stolen from the Venezuelan people. And yet celebs like Jaime Fox, Danny Glover,Steven Segal, and the like can’t resist photo ops with Nicolas Maduro. No wonder Shaq, one of our personal favorites, has stated he doesn’t want to be considered “a celebrity” as he doesn’t want to be associated with all the mindless celebs out there.
Then we have speculation that ICC Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan, may visit Venezuela next week when he travels to Colombia. At this point it’s unconfirmed.
Then we have the case of Raul Baduel’s death while in SEBIN custody. A former SEBIN director sent a letter to Military Leader,Padrino Lopez, saying he should get involved in the case. “Baduel’s leadership shone brighter than any other Chavista leader.” He also says Colonel Quintero planted evidence against Baduel under orders from higher powers. And by the way, the UN-FFM, the guys investigating the Maduro regimes Human Rights violations and possible crimes against humanity have requested an investigation into Baduel’s death. Oh, and the OAS (Organization of American States) is asking the OHCHR (Michele Bachelet’s office) for an independent autopsy.
And in case you missed it, Brazilian Federal Police have issued a deportation order against Chavista General Manuel Antonio Barroso, former director of CADIVI, from which billions of dollars were stolen.
Before I get too dizzy trying to keep up with all this, let’s head Down The Rabbit Hole for more “Bullets”…
…7/Price and currency controls don’t work. Period! See chapter 5 ( that would be week 5 of my blog posts…and so on)
8/ Cryptocurrency may be the way of the future but Venezuela’s el Petro is, as the Washington Post said “might be the most obviously horrible investment ever” see chapter 6
9/ Venezuela’s food crisis is man-made (Chavista-made) and has been going on since 2014. See chapter 7
10/ Maduro’s food program,CLAP, isn’t a solution. It’s a political weapon and a corrupt mechanism to enrich himself and other Chavistas. See chapter 7.
11/ Venezuela for years had the world’s cheapest gasoline, but not to benefit the people. It was used to buy loyalty from the military. See chapter 8.
12/ Venezuela’s “Mining Arc” is environmentally reprehensible, threatens indigenous peoples, and is another means to buy loyalty from the military. See chapter 9.
To be continued….
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