Key Maduro Ally in Venezuela Linked to Illegal Campaign Gifts
- 7 years ago
Key Maduro Ally in Venezuela Linked to Illegal Campaign Gifts
According to Mr. Azevedo, other leading politicians who received Odebrecht contributions during gubernatorial campaigns included: Gian Carlo Di Martino Tarquinio, currently the Venezuelan consul general in Milan, who made an unsuccessful run in Zulia State in 2008; Elías Jaua, a former vice president
and former head of the Agriculture and Lands Ministry, who lost a bid in Miranda in 2012; and Pablo Pérez, an opposition politician whose 2012 re-election bid in Zulia ended in defeat.
14, 2017
CARACAS, Venezuela — Odebrecht, the Brazilian construction giant
that ran a vast bribery scheme in the Americas, made campaign contributions to numerous Venezuelan candidates, including Diosdado Cabello, one of the country’s most powerful politicians, according to a video released on Saturday by Venezuela’s ousted attorney general.
The former attorney general, Luisa Ortega, who fled the country in August, posted an earlier video, on Thursday, in which the same Odebrecht executive, Euzenando Prazeres de Azevedo, testified
that the company had paid President Nicolás Maduro at least $35 million in bribes in 2013 linked to campaign promises.
Mr. Cabello and the other politicians named in the video issued no immediate comment on Saturday regarding
the video, which was made last year by Brazilian authorities investigating the Odebrecht scandal.
In the video, Mr. Azevedo said that from 2004 to 2013, Odebrecht became extensively
involved not only in federal elections but also in municipal and state contests.
Vladimir Aras, a Brazilian prosecutor who until recently led the attorney general’s international cooperation office, said this week
that the Brazilian authorities shared deposition videos with Ms. Ortega this year after they became convinced she would try to prosecute suspects in Venezuela.
According to Mr. Azevedo, other leading politicians who received Odebrecht contributions during gubernatorial campaigns included: Gian Carlo Di Martino Tarquinio, currently the Venezuelan consul general in Milan, who made an unsuccessful run in Zulia State in 2008; Elías Jaua, a former vice president
and former head of the Agriculture and Lands Ministry, who lost a bid in Miranda in 2012; and Pablo Pérez, an opposition politician whose 2012 re-election bid in Zulia ended in defeat.
14, 2017
CARACAS, Venezuela — Odebrecht, the Brazilian construction giant
that ran a vast bribery scheme in the Americas, made campaign contributions to numerous Venezuelan candidates, including Diosdado Cabello, one of the country’s most powerful politicians, according to a video released on Saturday by Venezuela’s ousted attorney general.
The former attorney general, Luisa Ortega, who fled the country in August, posted an earlier video, on Thursday, in which the same Odebrecht executive, Euzenando Prazeres de Azevedo, testified
that the company had paid President Nicolás Maduro at least $35 million in bribes in 2013 linked to campaign promises.
Mr. Cabello and the other politicians named in the video issued no immediate comment on Saturday regarding
the video, which was made last year by Brazilian authorities investigating the Odebrecht scandal.
In the video, Mr. Azevedo said that from 2004 to 2013, Odebrecht became extensively
involved not only in federal elections but also in municipal and state contests.
Vladimir Aras, a Brazilian prosecutor who until recently led the attorney general’s international cooperation office, said this week
that the Brazilian authorities shared deposition videos with Ms. Ortega this year after they became convinced she would try to prosecute suspects in Venezuela.