Venezuelan Government Supports Mexico's Sinaloa Drug Cartel

FROM THE - JOURNALS of Monte Friesner – Criminal & Intelligence Analyst and Consulaire for WANTED SA ~ Contributed & Written by Kenneth Rijock

VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT PROTECTS MEXICO'S MOST NOTORIOUS NARCOTRAFFICKER

His name is Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, but you probably know him better by his street name, Chapo [Shorty] Guzmán. He is the leader of Mexico's Sinaloa Drug Cartel, and the United States has considered   mounting an operation to capture or kill him, giving such an operation the same priority as the one that resulted in the death of Osama Bin Ladin.

DRUG TRAFFICKING

Articles this week, appearing in mainstream Venezuela media, have detailed the air smuggling acts of his organization, which has used Caracas' principal airport to transport massive amounts of drugs into Mexico, and thereafter into the US, and also eastbound into West Africa, and subsequently into Western Europe. What those newspapers do not wish to print, however, is the fact that Sr. Guzmán has repeatedly used Venezuela as his base of operations, and has actually resided there, with the support and protection of the Government of Venezuela, to evade capture by law enforcement agencies of the United States, and Mexico; he is a fugitive from justice, facing major criminal charges in both countries.

With all of the attention being given to the recent efforts, by the new Venezuelan administration of Nicolás Maduro, to purportedly improving diplomatic relations with the US, those proponents of this new relationship in the making might wish to ask for Sr. Guzmán's extradition as a precondition. He is not the only drug kingpin who maintains safe harbour in Venezuela, but he is the most dangerous.

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WHAT YOU HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT SENDING PAYMENTS TO VENEZUELA

FROM THE - JOURNALS of Monte Friesner – Criminal & Intelligence Analyst and Consulaire for WANTED SA ~ Contributed & Written by Kenneth Rijock

MAKE SURE YOUR CLIENTS SENDING PAYMENTS TO VENEZUELA HAVE END USER CERTIFICATES

The Venezuelan-to-Cuba fiber optic cable is not the only ongoing connection between these two countries. If you are a US financial institution whose clients trade with Venezuelan companies, please note that some of the shipments of goods do not end up in Venezuela, but are transshipped directly to Cuba. That means your clients, and your bank, is at risk for OFAC sanctions violations.

There are more than 60,000 Cuban nationals living and working inside Venezuela, and they are not all doctors, my friends. Cubans direct the operations of large portions of the Venezuelan government, as well as its economy. Payment instructions to you may even come from Cuban supervisors or commanders, and OFAC rules technically prohibit dealing with any Cuban national located outside the United States

It is submitted that, to reduce the risk of an OFAC violation regarding both shipments of goods to Cuba via Venezuela, as well as dealing with Cuban nationals working in Venezuela, that you ensure that your client' customers certify that Venezuela is the final destination of the goods, and the end user. Treat these transactions as if they were shipments of weapons or ammunition, which require end user certificates, and you will reduce your risk to manageable levels, in my humble opinion.

Remember, an end user certificate is signed by the recipient, not the sender or shipper. Should they be notarised by a known Notary Public, or executed at the US Embassy in Caracas ? It would ensure that you do not receiver any forgeries, or documents improperly signed by your clients.

The fiber optic connection

It may be preferable to have such a document drafted by your outside counsel, in Spanish, in coordination with your compliance department. Take the time to protect your bank from potential OFAC violations.
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VENEZUELA IS GETTING NUCLEAR WEAPONS

FROM THE - JOURNALS of Monte Friesner – Criminal & Intelligence Analyst and Consulaire for WANTED SA

~Contributed & Written by Kenneth Rijock ~

IRAN'S KAYSON COMPANY DENIES IT IS BUILDING MISSILE SILOS IN VENEZUELA

The Iranian construction company, Kayson Company, has denied that it is building hardened silos for Venezuela's ballistic missiles. A Caracas attorney, advising that he was acting on behalf of the company, but who refused to give his name, issued the denials.

The announcement also attempted to spin the seizure, in Dusseldorf, of a 300m Bolívar cheque (the equivalent of €54m), from former Iranian Central Bank Governor, and ex-Minister of the Economy,

Tahaseb Mazaheri, for failure to be properly declared at German Customs. The spokesman stated that the signatory on the cheque, drawn reportedly drawn on on the Bank of Venezuela, was located in Tehran, and that there was nothing illegal about the manner in which it was being delivered. (Obviously, not an attorney with any knowledge of EU Customs procedure).

Frankly, the statement is not credible:

(1) You expect compliance officers to believe that the former Governor of the Central Bank of Iran is not familiar with international customs requirements regarding financial instruments ?

(2) Iran can have regular scheduled, and non-scheduled direct air travel between Tehran and Caracas, and not have the ability to courier a multi-million cheque onboard one of their aircraft ? Could not Mr. Tahaseb have flown on one of those aircraft ? He's certainly a PEP with senior status in Iran.

Regarding the missile silo construction denial, I learnt in 2009 that Kayson was in Venezuela to build silos, and also that it was bringing in $750,000 at a time for that purpose. That information was later verified, notwithstanding Venezuelan Government statements denying it. We now know that Venezuela now has a fully operational missile complex, which includes silos, on its Caribbean coast, uncomfortably close to both Colombia, and Miami. You can thank Kayson for that chilling fact.

Perhaps the United States would now consider moving some of those mobile Patriot Missile batteries to Cartagena and Key West, because the contract was for multiple missile sites.