One of the several former presidents of the Venezuelan
state-owned Iron Company, Ferrominera, Mr. Radwan Sabbagh, has complained
publicly about being extorted by Colonel Juan Carlos Alvarez Dionisi, the
Director of Military Intelligence in Bolivar state. Mr. Sabbagh said that he
was afraid of being involved with a group that had been committing fraud at the
company. He says that Colonel Alvarez Dionisi, aka “The Shark”, met with him in
October 2011 and threatened with putting him in jail or else. In this meeting The Shark let him know that he had all the
information required about the “mafia” to act. Mr. Sabbagh felt this would not
be convenient and started to pay him to buy his silence. He says he paid about
U.S. $5 million. After two years the government has finally acted against him
by putting him in prison. However, the system has been left intact.
This sordid tale allows us to get a glimpse of the
hyper-corruption existing in the Venezuelan regime. It is a tale of bribes,
extortions, treason and large-scale, systemic corruption. Bribes from the
former president of the Iron Company to another government bureaucrat.
Extortion by the policeman in exchange for his silence. Treason because both
bureaucrats violated their oaths of loyalty to the nation. Large scale,
systemic corruption because this was not an isolated affair but a group action
made possible by impunity.
When a mid-level government bureaucrat can afford to pay U.S.
$5 million to an extorter he probably has much more money in his pockets. In a universe of 2.3 million public employees
this relatively modest indication of corruption makes us wonder about the true extent
of corruption in the system. Two years ago I published a list of 33 cases of
large scale corruption, involving the highest levels of the government
bureaucracy, none of which have been properly investigated, see: http://lasarmasdecoronel.blogspot.com/2010/11/memo-giordani-y-marciano-sobre-la.html .
No nation is rich enough to support such a large scale corruption.
The regime has created a new style of political and financial corruption,
exercised openly and, even, with pride.
Why? The group in power and their followers feel
that corruption by those who felt excluded and victimized in the past is no
sin, they see it as an act of justice
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