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The corruption of democracy in Venezuela: under Pres. Hugo Chavez's regime the last nine years, corruption has reached heights undreamed of by even the greediest of despots, as the people of Venezuela have been fleeced out of billions of dollars
USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), March, 2008 by Gustavo Coronel
Private corporations that deal with the government are owned by government officers. Government officers own companies that do business with the government, but conceal this fact by working through private intermediaries. Kenneth Rijock, a financial analyst, notes that these types of corporations have sprouted under Chavez. He mentions major agribusiness organizations such as ProArepa, the main supplier of food for government handout programs. Rijock also points to a large grain transport group "rumored to be owned by Chavez's brother, Adan." Officers of record of ProArepa include Ricardo Fernandez Bermecos, whose private jet recently was detained by the U.S. government at a Florida airport for not having the proper documentation of ownership. Journalist Patricia Poleo mentions the case of the brother of Chacon, who made a $10,000,000 offer to buy INDULAC, a large milk producer, without the source of the funds being known.
Drug trafficking. Venezuela has become a haven for Colombian guerrillas who move drags across the country with impunity due to the absence of border controls. A report by Andy Webb-Vidal for Jane's Intelligence Review in May 2006 reveals that cocaine operations are shifting to Venezuela: he notes that drug volumes going through the country have skyrocketed during the last 10 years. Prominent drag traffickers of Colombian origin live without fear of prosecution in Venezuela.
Chavez obviously has failed to live up to his electoral promises to end corruption. The record is clear. The Corruption Perception Index, published by Transparency International, has shown a progressive deterioration of the ranking of Venezuela, both in Latin America and the world. The latest index shows Venezuela in position 138 among 163 countries. This is the worst ranking of all Latin American nations with the exception of Haiti. Vice Pres. Jorge Rodriguez, expressing the official position of the government, claims that Transparency International "was a discredited institution since it charges a tariff for positioning countries favorably in the rankings." Transparency International is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and has chapters in more than 100 countries, including Venezuela. It is a highly respected organization and its corruption rankings are accepted by the international community as the best source of information on this global problem.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan ranking in the Economic Freedom of the World Index is 126 out of 130 nations, above only the Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This ranking has been declining steadily since Chavez came to power. It has been established that countries with little economic freedom, characterized by exchange controls, military influence in government, and predominance of state-owned enterprises display the highest levels of corruption. Moreover, the Human Development Index produced yearly by the United Nations also charts Venezuela in free-fall. The country has lost 30 places in this index in the last six years.
