Cover up makes case on Venezuelan Argenina bribe
...I think Venezuela and Argentina are the ones with the real problem. The FBI case appears to be based on both documentary and taped evidence. The documents seem to support what is one the tapes. This will be very difficult to explain away.The idea of a U.S.-backed plot to influence regional politics plays well in a region where some conspiracy theories -- such as U.S. support of military dictatorships in the 1970s -- have proved true over time. But as Antonini's trail continues to be revealed, such allegations are anything but clear.
Antonini, 46, is listed as residing in Key Biscayne, Fla. Argentine newspapers have published photographs of a luxury residence and a red Ferrari said to belong to him. Attempts to reach him by telephone were unsuccessful.
He arrived at a Buenos Aires airport about 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 4 with Venezuelan state energy officials. Their Cessna plane was chartered by Argentina's state oil company. Chávez was scheduled to arrive two days later to sign a series of energy accords with Argentina.
"If Venezuela wanted to give money to Cristina's campaign, why would they do it with this guy?" said Daniel Mojica, 54, manager of an electronics store in Buenos Aires. "Chávez arrived two days later with 24 bags, and with diplomatic immunity. He could have brought $24 million here by himself."
But if he had no connection with Chávez or the Kirchners, new revelations this week have others asking another question about Antonini: Why did he supposedly show up in Argentina's presidential palace two days after he arrived?
After Antonini was stopped at the airport, Argentine authorities let him go. An Argentine judge on Thursday said a witness -- the former secretary for the Argentine official who chartered the Cessna flight -- testified that she saw Antonini on Aug. 6 at a ceremony in Argentina's Casa Rosada.
Antonini left Argentina on Aug. 7 using a U.S. passport and stopped in Uruguay -- where Chávez also traveled that day -- before returning to his home in Florida.
Argentine authorities a month later asked the United States to extradite Antonini to face possible currency smuggling violations in Argentina, but the FBI already was secretly using Antonini as an informant, monitoring his telephone calls and his meetings with alleged Venezuelan agents in Florida, according to an indictment filed in Miami on Wednesday.
The indictment stated that Antonini on Aug. 23 met three Venezuelans at a Fort Lauderdale steakhouse. The Venezuelans informed Antonini that the money he was given came from the Venezuelan government and was meant for Fernández de Kirchner's campaign, and they warned him that foreign government officials would pursue him unless he claimed the money was his own, according to court documents.
Those three Venezuelans, plus one Uruguayan, are under arrest in Miami and have been charged with being illegal agents of Venezuela operating in the United States. A fifth man, also from Venezuela, was indicted but remains at large. If convicted, each faces up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. They are scheduled to enter their pleas Dec. 28.
On Dec. 7, two of the Venezuelans -- Carlos Kauffmann and Franklin Durán -- sued American Express Bank International in Miami for withholding millions of dollars in their bank accounts because the two men were listed by the government as "Politically Exposed Persons." The term generally applies to individuals who are foreign government officials, though their family members and associates also can be included under that designation. The USA Patriot Act requires financial institutions to review thoroughly the accounts of such people.
In addition to being alleged agents of Venezuela, Kauffmann and Durán own Industrias Venoco, a petrochemical and oil services company that does business with Venezuela's state oil company. Dur¿n is also co-owner of an arms importing company that has provided weapons for police agencies in Venezuela.
On Dec. 11, Durán gave Antonini documents to cover up the true source and destination of the $800,000, according to the indictment. The FBI arrested the four accused agents the following day.
...
Argentina has also made a tactical mistake by attacking the bag man. Kirchner would have been smart to say nothing or feign ignorance of the payoff plot. By aggressively attacking Wilson, she and her government look like they are part of a regional cover up to protect the corrupt Chavez regime in Venezuela. It will taint her government for its entire term and make suspect any deals she does with Venezuela.
Comments
Post a Comment