Though international and mainstream media have largely moved on from Venezuela following a failed US-backed coup against socialist president Nicolas Maduro, the US continues to hit the economically collapsed country with more sanctions.
On Thursday the US Treasury announced it’s taking aim at a vast “food corruption network,” imposing sanctions on 10 people and 13 groups alleged to be running a Venezuelan food subsidy scheme, the proceeds of which went straight to lining Maduro’s pockets.
The Treasury called it a “vast” corruption network profiting from “overvalued contracts” tapping to into Caracas’ food subsidy program, and spearheaded by Colombian national Alex Nain Saab.
Reuters reports, based on the Treasury statement, that “Saab bribed Maduro’s three stepsons to win no-bid, overvalued government contracts, said Sigal P. Mandelker, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.”
“Alex Saab engaged with Maduro insiders to run a wide-scale corruption network they callously used to exploit Venezuela’s starving population,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Thursday.
“Treasury is targeting those behind Maduro’s sophisticated corruption schemes, as well as the global network of shell companies that profit from” the country’s military-controlled food distribution program, Mnuchin added.
Saab’s operation is said to have imported “only a fraction of the food” that was supposed to go to the poor and needy of Venezuela, all while reaping major profits from overvalued contracts. Other individuals considered close to Maduro were also named as part of the new sanctions roll out, including a stepson of the Venezuelan president.
The Treasury also detailed how Saab was previously involved in a secret scheme to swindle gold from the cash strapped Latin American country, which benefited corrupt Maduro government elites. Reuters detailed further:
Saab also began in 2018 to help the Venezuelan government liquidate gold mined in Venezuela and convert it into foreign currency, Treasury said. The gold was then flown to destinations including Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, it said.
The United States imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan gold sector last year. U.S. envoy to Venezuela Elliott Abrams estimated on Wednesday that Maduro’s government had sold roughly $1 billion in gold in 2019.
Interestingly, this week new Miami Herald report detailed that the Trump administration “appears willing to offer guarantees to Nicolas Maduro that the U.S. will leave him alone if he leaves Venezuela.”
Though originating from an unnamed “high official” in the US administration, it’s the first time any Trump officials have suggested the US may be willing to “negotiate” an exit for Maduro.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/32RL9NE Tyler Durden