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Dear Editors:
First of all, receive a cordial greeting on behalf of the Legitimate Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. We take this opportunity to thank the Washington Post for the permanent concern about the social and political crisis that impacts Venezuela as a result of Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship.
In relation to the article published by the Washington Post on January 2nd, entitled “Venezuelan opposition efforts to capture government’s foreign assets draw scrutiny”, we consider it pertinent to point out the following:
1. We are committed to recovering and protecting, from the systematic looting by Nicolás Maduro’s regime the assets of the Republic that are located abroad. To this end, we have control mechanisms that allow us to detect and reject any agreement or deal that may harm the interests of the Republic, as happened with the proposals referred to in the aforementioned article. Furthermore, we have demonstrated with facts our commitment to transparency and the fight against corruption. These efforts have been deployed with the cooperation of legitimate Venezuelan authorities, the Colombian Prosecutor’s Office, the US Department of State and Department of Justice.
2. Before the publication of the aforementioned article, the interim government had already publicly requested both the National Assembly and the US Department of Justice to initiate an independent investigation into the complaints related to the CRA Consortium case. Evidence of said actions of the Interim Government was duly presented to the journalist and Chief of the Washington Post Bureau for South America and the Caribbean, Anthony Faiola co-author of the report, by the Communications Department of our Embassy in the United States, on October 3rd and December 15th, 2020.
Commissioner Javier Troconis and the complainants, Pedro Antar and Jorge Reyes, among other relevant subjects were called to appear Before the Comptroller’s Commission of the National Assembly. The content of these apbearances is public and in these the inexistence of elements of proof of the alleged acts of extortion can be verified. What was recorded is that the complainants refused to give the name of the alleged interim government official who had served as emissary of said extortion, which makes his appearance and investigation impossible. However, the investigation is ongoing and the US Department of Justice has the competencies and powers to delve into those aspects that the Comptroller Commission could not have developed.
3. In relation to the proposal about the debt of the Paraguayan oil company Petropar we consider that, far from being a case of alleged irregularity or corruption, it is a clear positive example of how the interim government timely deployed the necessary mechanisms to protect the assets and interests of the Republic. This proposal, after being evaluated, was rejected by the Special Prosecutor’s Office of Venezuela, the Ad-hoc Board of PDVSA and the interim President, after considering that it did not comply with satisfactory conditions for the Republic, both due to the demanded percentage of removal and the commission stipulated for the lawyer. It is easily verifiable that no agreement or contract was signed and, therefore, there was no expense or commission. This has also been publicly confirmed by the Paraguayan authorities.
Furthermore, we respectfully request that the elements described here be publicized and, if possible, that omissions of material that are valuable for the context are included and attached to the article. Also, that it be made clear that in none of the shown cases has there been any information or evidence that proves some punishable act. On the contrary, in both cases we are witnessing two work proposals that, after being evaluated by the competent authorities of the interim Government, were rejected, which is why there was no disbursement or irregular use of the resources of the Venezuelans.
We thus bid farewell, remaining at your complete disposal to provide you with any information that contributes to providing greater clarity on the complex situation in Venezuela.
Respuesta del Gobierno Legítimo de Venezuela by Presidencia (E) de Venezuela on Scribd
