Maletinazo
Encyclopedia
The maletinazo, valijagate, or "suitcase scandal" was a 2007 scandal involving Venezuela
and Argentina
, souring friendship between the countries. The word comes from maletín (the Spanish word for suitcase or briefcase) and the suffix -azo which implies intensity or magnitude. The scandal is also known as valijagate, maletagate and maletíngate (following the -gate construction and the Spanish word maleta or valija for suitcase or briefcase).
The scandal began when Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, a Venezuelan-US entrepreneur, arrived in Argentina on a private flight hired by Argentine and Venezuelan state officials carrying US$800,000 in cash which he failed to declare.
was planning to visit Argentina in August 2007 to refinance billions of United States dollars in Argentine debt through bond purchases and announce a natural gas deal.
On 4 August 2007, Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, a Venezuelan-US entrepreneur claiming to be part of Chávez's entourage, arrived in Argentina on a private flight from Royal Class hired by Argentine and Venezuelan state officials carrying US$790,550 in cash. He did not declare the money upon arrival and the police seized the money. Other Venezuelan passengers included Ruth Berhrrenes, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.
(PDVSA) representative in Uruguay; Nelly Cardozo, legal assessor of that company; Wilfredo Ávila, a protocol official; and Daniel Uzcategui Specht, son of PDVSA's vice-president Diego Uzcategui and Maria Isabel Specht, Technology and Engineering Manager of Citgo Petroleum Corporation in Houston, Texas. Others on that flight were the president of Enarsa
, Exequiel Espinosa, Claudio Uberti (OCCOVI) and Victoria Bereziuk, his secretary. Although officials originally called it a simple infraction and released Antonini Wilson, both Argentine and Venezuelan officials called for an investigation.
Chávez arrived in Argentina on 6 August 2007, as part of a tour to sign oil deals with several South American countries. Antonini Wilson was in the signing ceremony between the presidents of Argentina and Venezuela that took place in the presidential palace, also known as the Casa Rosada
. On 8 August, the Argentine senate demanded a report on the incident.
An Argentine judge later ordered the arrest of Antonini Wilson and he is facing charges for money laundering and contraband.
The Argentine minister of interior, Fernández, declared the Senate's attempts to ask for a report on an individual, even if it is a crime case. He said the demand was politically motivated (referring to upcoming elections in Argentina).
PDVSA announced an internal investigation to determine why four of their officials were traveling with Antonini Wilson.
On 13 August 2007, Federal judge Diego Zysman stepped aside from the case, becoming the second judge to renounce investigating the case. Judge Novatti was notified by the Judicial Chamber of Economic Cases on 14 August 2007, that she had to take back the case.
The Bolivian government declared the plane carrying Antonini Wilson to Buenos Aires only flew over Bolivia and did not land there, after some suggestions by Venezuelan officials that the money might have come from Bolivia (it would have been illegal to take that amount of money from Venezuela under current currency control laws.
According to documents from the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela from 8 December 2004, an associate of Antonini, sold police equipment through a Venezuelan company Ruibal & Duran to the governor of Cojedes state
, Johny Yánez, who days before declared that he did not have anything to do with Antonini. Clarín newspaper said Antonini had accompanied Yánez on a visit to Uruguay in September 2006.
Argentina sent an arrest warrant to Interpol for the arrest of Antonini; Interpol released a capture order for the offense of fraud.
The investigation in Argentina generated doubt regarding the behavior of members of the Kirchner administration. The investigation is also trying to determine why Enarsa
spent $90,000 for a charter flight, and why Antonini Wilson was allowed to leave Argentina outbound to Uruguay.
is the commission established by the government to regulate currency; it prohibits taking more than US$10,000 in cash out of the country without declaring the money. Venezuelans can only take US$500 or €400 cash out of the country in a single trip and there is a yearly quota of US$2,500 on credit card expenditures; a special government permit is needed to take additional US dollars out of the country.
and El Universal
, Antonini Wilson owns a condo in Ocean Club, Key Biscayne, Florida; together with Wladimir Abad, he is registered as owner of a building located in Mashta Avenue, in Key Biscayne, valued at $US3.96 million. Wladimir Abad is the secretary of American Food Grain (AFG), a part of a Venezuelan holding called Proarepa, owned by Sarkis Arslanian Beyloune and Ricardo Fernández Barrueco. Proarepa was in charge of the food distribution during Venezuela's oil strike of 2002, when Chávez signed contracts for food distribution. According to the Venezuelan Government Press Office, Proarepa is a private company that has "joined this mission (Mission Mercal
) to offer food and better price to the Venezuelan consumer". According to El Nuevo Herald
, Antonini Wilson's name is linked to other companies in southern Florida, such as Venuz Supply Inc., Intertel Telecom and Techmilk Inc.; La Nación
says that Antonini is among a group of businessmen who benefited economically during the administration of Hugo Chávez
. In May 2007, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) confiscated a jet belonging to American Food Grain. The report, according to The Miami Herald, says Ricardo Fernández Barruecos had not respected federal norms to register the plane in the United States.
Beginning in late August 2007, Antonini Wilson cooperated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation
, resulting in the "indictment of four Venezuelans and a Uruguayan". In December 2007, the St. Petersburg Times
reported that, according to prosecutors, "Antonini was delivering the money to the election campaign of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez
", with "Venezuelan and Argentine officials accusing Washington of fabricating a scandal to destabilize left-wing governments in the region." The Wall Street Journal also reported that: "U.S. prosecutors in Miami announced the arrest of three Venezuelans and a Uruguayan who allegedly schemed to silence Mr. Antonini about the Venezuelan contribution to the Kirchner campaign. An indictment charges the men—and a fifth who is a fugitive—with operating as Venezuelan agents unlawfully, without having notified the U.S. attorney general. In a court hearing, a U.S. attorney said Mr. Antonini is now cooperating with the investigation and wore a wire to record subsequent encounters with the alleged Venezuelan agents, who offered him $2 million in hush money, while also threatening his family if he didn't keep quiet."
(FBI) arrested three Venezuelans and one Uruguayan, accusing them of being agents of the Venezuelan government who intended for Antonini to help cover up the scandal over the money that was intended for "a candidate" in the Argentine presidential elections of 2007.
The Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of the case, Thomas Mulvihill, said that one of the arrested individuals, Franklin Durán, had declared that the money was for the then-presidential candidate Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
.
The Ambassador of the United States to Argentina assured that the event had nothing to do with the Argentina-United States relations.
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner responded to the investigation led by the United States by dubbing it "operación basura" (a "trashing operation").
Argentine President
Néstor Kirchner
declared his government had nothing to do with the affair, and that there was no coverup. Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs declared during the third meeting of Petrocaribe
, "why is there such a scandal? Every day things like this happen in all the countries of the world". He said the reason for the publicity was that "some powerful people in Washington are very nervous because we are progressing in giant steps towards the union of South American countries, of the Caribbean union. They are afraid and they tremble".
The head of PDVSA, Ramírez, declared "the media is trying to put PDVSA in a bad light for events that are 'completely false'", referring to the recent denouncements of corruption at the state oil company. He said "we see how there is premeditated attempt to publicly lynch our institution and our workers for facts that have not been supported or proved". The second vice-president of Venezuela's parliament, Roberto Hernández, declared on 10 August that those PDVSA managers who accompanied Antonini Wilson should be fired.
The crisis prompted the Argentine government to ask Chávez to fire the person responsible for PDVSA in Argentina. The PDVSA official's son had accompanied Antonini Wilson to the flight. Other high officials from the Venezuelan and Argentine governments were present.
The Venezuelan Minister of Interior declared that if there were a crime in cooperation with public functionaries, "the State does not have to assume any responsibility because responsibility is individual". He said it is false the Argentine government was asking for the vice-president of PDVSA—Diego Uzcátegui, whose son was traveling with Guido Antonini—to be fired.
On August 18, President Chávez declared he had nothing to hide.
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, souring friendship between the countries. The word comes from maletín (the Spanish word for suitcase or briefcase) and the suffix -azo which implies intensity or magnitude. The scandal is also known as valijagate, maletagate and maletíngate (following the -gate construction and the Spanish word maleta or valija for suitcase or briefcase).
The scandal began when Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, a Venezuelan-US entrepreneur, arrived in Argentina on a private flight hired by Argentine and Venezuelan state officials carrying US$800,000 in cash which he failed to declare.
Chronicle
President Hugo ChávezHugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
was planning to visit Argentina in August 2007 to refinance billions of United States dollars in Argentine debt through bond purchases and announce a natural gas deal.
On 4 August 2007, Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, a Venezuelan-US entrepreneur claiming to be part of Chávez's entourage, arrived in Argentina on a private flight from Royal Class hired by Argentine and Venezuelan state officials carrying US$790,550 in cash. He did not declare the money upon arrival and the police seized the money. Other Venezuelan passengers included Ruth Berhrrenes, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.
Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.
Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. is the Venezuelan state-owned petroleum company. It has activities in exploration, production, refining and exporting oil, as well as exploration and production of natural gas...
(PDVSA) representative in Uruguay; Nelly Cardozo, legal assessor of that company; Wilfredo Ávila, a protocol official; and Daniel Uzcategui Specht, son of PDVSA's vice-president Diego Uzcategui and Maria Isabel Specht, Technology and Engineering Manager of Citgo Petroleum Corporation in Houston, Texas. Others on that flight were the president of Enarsa
Enarsa
Enarsa , in full Energía Argentina Sociedad Anónima, is a company managed by the national state of Argentina for the integral exploitation of petroleum and natural gas, and the production, industrialization, transport and trade of these and of electricity.Enarsa was founded on December 29, 2004 by...
, Exequiel Espinosa, Claudio Uberti (OCCOVI) and Victoria Bereziuk, his secretary. Although officials originally called it a simple infraction and released Antonini Wilson, both Argentine and Venezuelan officials called for an investigation.
Chávez arrived in Argentina on 6 August 2007, as part of a tour to sign oil deals with several South American countries. Antonini Wilson was in the signing ceremony between the presidents of Argentina and Venezuela that took place in the presidential palace, also known as the Casa Rosada
Casa Rosada
La Casa Rosada is the official seat of the executive branch of the government of Argentina, and of the offices of the President. The President normally lives at the Quinta de Olivos, a compound in Olivos, Buenos Aires Province. Its characteristic color is pink, and is considered one of the most...
. On 8 August, the Argentine senate demanded a report on the incident.
An Argentine judge later ordered the arrest of Antonini Wilson and he is facing charges for money laundering and contraband.
Investigation
Initially, Argentine judge Marta Novatti took the case but she quickly resigned from the investigation. The Argentine government fired one of the state officials who was on the plane, the head of Road Deal Controls, Claudio Uberti. Argentine Minister of Planning, Julio de Vido, declared that Uberti was the "political responsible for that flight"; Uberti was fired.The Argentine minister of interior, Fernández, declared the Senate's attempts to ask for a report on an individual, even if it is a crime case. He said the demand was politically motivated (referring to upcoming elections in Argentina).
PDVSA announced an internal investigation to determine why four of their officials were traveling with Antonini Wilson.
On 13 August 2007, Federal judge Diego Zysman stepped aside from the case, becoming the second judge to renounce investigating the case. Judge Novatti was notified by the Judicial Chamber of Economic Cases on 14 August 2007, that she had to take back the case.
The Bolivian government declared the plane carrying Antonini Wilson to Buenos Aires only flew over Bolivia and did not land there, after some suggestions by Venezuelan officials that the money might have come from Bolivia (it would have been illegal to take that amount of money from Venezuela under current currency control laws.
According to documents from the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela from 8 December 2004, an associate of Antonini, sold police equipment through a Venezuelan company Ruibal & Duran to the governor of Cojedes state
Cojedes (state)
Cojedes State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Carlos.Cojedes State covers a total surface area of 14,800 km² and, in 2007, had an estimated population of 300,300.- History :...
, Johny Yánez, who days before declared that he did not have anything to do with Antonini. Clarín newspaper said Antonini had accompanied Yánez on a visit to Uruguay in September 2006.
Argentina sent an arrest warrant to Interpol for the arrest of Antonini; Interpol released a capture order for the offense of fraud.
The investigation in Argentina generated doubt regarding the behavior of members of the Kirchner administration. The investigation is also trying to determine why Enarsa
Enarsa
Enarsa , in full Energía Argentina Sociedad Anónima, is a company managed by the national state of Argentina for the integral exploitation of petroleum and natural gas, and the production, industrialization, transport and trade of these and of electricity.Enarsa was founded on December 29, 2004 by...
spent $90,000 for a charter flight, and why Antonini Wilson was allowed to leave Argentina outbound to Uruguay.
Economic background
Venezuela has had strict foreign currency controls since 2003. CADIVICADIVI
CADIVI is the Venezuelan government body which administers currency exchange in Venezuela...
is the commission established by the government to regulate currency; it prohibits taking more than US$10,000 in cash out of the country without declaring the money. Venezuelans can only take US$500 or €400 cash out of the country in a single trip and there is a yearly quota of US$2,500 on credit card expenditures; a special government permit is needed to take additional US dollars out of the country.
Antonini Wilson background
According to El Nuevo HeraldEl Nuevo Herald
El Nuevo Herald is a McClatchy newspaper published daily in Spanish in Miami, Florida, in the United States. El Nuevo Heralds sister paper is The Miami Herald, also produced by the McClatchy Company.-About El Nuevo Herald:...
and El Universal
El Universal (Caracas)
El Universal is a major Venezuelan newspaper, headquartered in Caracas with an average daily circulation of about 150,000. The online version carries news, politics, sports, economy and more....
, Antonini Wilson owns a condo in Ocean Club, Key Biscayne, Florida; together with Wladimir Abad, he is registered as owner of a building located in Mashta Avenue, in Key Biscayne, valued at $US3.96 million. Wladimir Abad is the secretary of American Food Grain (AFG), a part of a Venezuelan holding called Proarepa, owned by Sarkis Arslanian Beyloune and Ricardo Fernández Barrueco. Proarepa was in charge of the food distribution during Venezuela's oil strike of 2002, when Chávez signed contracts for food distribution. According to the Venezuelan Government Press Office, Proarepa is a private company that has "joined this mission (Mission Mercal
Mission Mercal
Mission Mercal is a Bolivarian Mission established in Venezuela under the government of Hugo Chávez. The Mission involves a state-run company called Mercados de Alimentos, C.A. , which provides subsidised food and basic goods through a nationwide chain of stores...
) to offer food and better price to the Venezuelan consumer". According to El Nuevo Herald
El Nuevo Herald
El Nuevo Herald is a McClatchy newspaper published daily in Spanish in Miami, Florida, in the United States. El Nuevo Heralds sister paper is The Miami Herald, also produced by the McClatchy Company.-About El Nuevo Herald:...
, Antonini Wilson's name is linked to other companies in southern Florida, such as Venuz Supply Inc., Intertel Telecom and Techmilk Inc.; La Nación
La Nación
La Nación is an Argentine daily newspaper. The country's leading conservative paper, the centrist Clarín is its main competitor. It is the only newspaper in Argentina still published in broadsheet format.-Overview:...
says that Antonini is among a group of businessmen who benefited economically during the administration of Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
. In May 2007, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
(DEA) confiscated a jet belonging to American Food Grain. The report, according to The Miami Herald, says Ricardo Fernández Barruecos had not respected federal norms to register the plane in the United States.
Beginning in late August 2007, Antonini Wilson cooperated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, resulting in the "indictment of four Venezuelans and a Uruguayan". In December 2007, the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
reported that, according to prosecutors, "Antonini was delivering the money to the election campaign of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner , commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner is the 55th and current President of Argentina and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve...
", with "Venezuelan and Argentine officials accusing Washington of fabricating a scandal to destabilize left-wing governments in the region." The Wall Street Journal also reported that: "U.S. prosecutors in Miami announced the arrest of three Venezuelans and a Uruguayan who allegedly schemed to silence Mr. Antonini about the Venezuelan contribution to the Kirchner campaign. An indictment charges the men—and a fifth who is a fugitive—with operating as Venezuelan agents unlawfully, without having notified the U.S. attorney general. In a court hearing, a U.S. attorney said Mr. Antonini is now cooperating with the investigation and wore a wire to record subsequent encounters with the alleged Venezuelan agents, who offered him $2 million in hush money, while also threatening his family if he didn't keep quiet."
Involvement of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
On 13 December 2007 the Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) arrested three Venezuelans and one Uruguayan, accusing them of being agents of the Venezuelan government who intended for Antonini to help cover up the scandal over the money that was intended for "a candidate" in the Argentine presidential elections of 2007.
The Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of the case, Thomas Mulvihill, said that one of the arrested individuals, Franklin Durán, had declared that the money was for the then-presidential candidate Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner , commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner is the 55th and current President of Argentina and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve...
.
The Ambassador of the United States to Argentina assured that the event had nothing to do with the Argentina-United States relations.
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner responded to the investigation led by the United States by dubbing it "operación basura" (a "trashing operation").
Reaction
The Venezuelan ambassador in Buenos Aires declared that Antonini Wilson had nothing to do with the Venezuelan embassy.Argentine President
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
declared his government had nothing to do with the affair, and that there was no coverup. Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs declared during the third meeting of Petrocaribe
Petrocaribe
Petrocaribe S. A. is a Caribbean oil alliance with Venezuela to purchase oil on conditions of preferential payment. The alliance was launched in June 2005. The payment system allows for a few nations to buy oil on market value but only a certain amount is needed up front; the remainder can be paid...
, "why is there such a scandal? Every day things like this happen in all the countries of the world". He said the reason for the publicity was that "some powerful people in Washington are very nervous because we are progressing in giant steps towards the union of South American countries, of the Caribbean union. They are afraid and they tremble".
The head of PDVSA, Ramírez, declared "the media is trying to put PDVSA in a bad light for events that are 'completely false'", referring to the recent denouncements of corruption at the state oil company. He said "we see how there is premeditated attempt to publicly lynch our institution and our workers for facts that have not been supported or proved". The second vice-president of Venezuela's parliament, Roberto Hernández, declared on 10 August that those PDVSA managers who accompanied Antonini Wilson should be fired.
The crisis prompted the Argentine government to ask Chávez to fire the person responsible for PDVSA in Argentina. The PDVSA official's son had accompanied Antonini Wilson to the flight. Other high officials from the Venezuelan and Argentine governments were present.
The Venezuelan Minister of Interior declared that if there were a crime in cooperation with public functionaries, "the State does not have to assume any responsibility because responsibility is individual". He said it is false the Argentine government was asking for the vice-president of PDVSA—Diego Uzcátegui, whose son was traveling with Guido Antonini—to be fired.
On August 18, President Chávez declared he had nothing to hide.
External links
- El Universal - The case of the suitcase, summary page from El Universal (also available in Spanish)