The Public Ministry announced today that it was going to publish the names of 60 companies it has found to have embezzled money out of CADIVI, a Venezuelan currency exchange program now known as CENCOEX.
Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz said:
We’re working to publish them soon. This is about companies whose owners, shareholders, and representatives were accused. We’re going to point out which crimes were committed, who were the accused, the current status of the investigation, and also [the names] of those who have been convicted.
Diaz also explained that since there are a multitude of investigations taking place, each one is at a different stage. She also said that there are a number of lists, which appear to range from companies the government is sure were involved in embezzlement to companies it merely suspects of having been involved. Diaz explained:
We have lists, for example, of the companies that are shell companies for sure, without an address or any infrastructure. I must warn you, there are different lists.
In Venezuela, currency exchange is regulated through the central government. Earlier this year, the government revealed that approximately $20 billion had been embezzled through CADIVI, mostly due to “very permissive” government authorities. National Assembly deputy Ricardo Sanguino, a PSUV member tasked with heading the investigation into CADIVI’s finances, found that between 2011 and 2013 the money was embezzled “for imports that never entered the country”.
Venezuela Automotive Industry Runs Out of Gas
The Venezuelan automotive industry is a virtual stand still due to severe shortages of parts used in the manufacturing process.
A Chrysler assembly plant near Valencia, Carabobo, has not assembled a single car in five months, forcing Chrysler to lay off 1,000 workers. Henry Ospina, a union leader for the plant, said:
They [management] are asking for 119 workers to be fired.
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We’re putting up a fight. But the company argues that every day payroll prices go up.
Chrysler, like many other industries in Venezuela, have found it virtually impossible to gain access to the foreign currency needed to pay for raw materials, forcing production to shut down.
The problems affecting Chrysler in Venezuela have also forced Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Volvo and Mitsubishi to drastically reduce their operations in the county, threatening thousands of jobs,
Venezuelan assembly plants have assembled 7,000 cars so far this year, down 84% from the same period last year.
While the affected industries blame a backlog in accessing U.S. dollars due to government mismanagement, Maduro blames them for the crisis, accusing them of waging an “economic war” against his government.
Maduro: “Not In a Hurry” to Increase Gas Prices
Speaking at an event inside the Palacio de Miraflores in Caracas, Maduro said:
We need to call a debate without any hurry to let the idea mature. If it takes one month to mature, it will be in a month. If it takes one year, it will be in a year. If it takes ten years, it will be in ten years. The homeland has the resources to continue its development.
He also explained what his rationale for increasing gas prices was, emphasizing that money was not the issue:
It´s not about resources, its about correcting a problem, because we´re paying more than what we´re charging to consume gasoline, and this is something that has to be corrected this year or next year, without any social disturbances or any politics through national consensus. Whatever extra income we make we can put towards financing misiones and grandes misiones.
Maduro also continued to stress that the money earned through any increase would be spent on education, health, and public housing.
Maduro Insists Travel Industry is Healthy
Speaking at an event yesterday, Maduro insisted that international travel to and from Venezuela has as healthy as ever, despite evidence to the contrary. Maduro said:
There are thousands of Venezuelans travelling internationally like never before.
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I am telling you again, when I see the numbers, the number of people leaving the country to go on vacation abroad, it breaks records. It is incredible, the number of households getting ready for vacations. This has never been seen before in Venezuela. The socialization of the right to leisure and vacations is a new thing in the Venezuela of the 21st century.
Maduro did not provide any numbers to back up his claims. The Venezuelan tourism industry has said that this year, international travel to and from the country has suffered tremendously due to the economic and social woes plaguing the nation.
Maduro also accused airlines that have halted or reduced operations in the country due to a multi-billion dollar debt owed to them by the government of waging a guerrita [“little war”] against the country:
They are waging a little war to take international flights away from us, as part of the economic war.
Finally, Maduro made it clear that any airline altering operations in the country due to the debt will not be allowed to resume work in the country:
I have told foreign airlines very clearly that any company that leaves Venezuela or blackmails Venezuela is a company that will not return, sir. We will substitute them later on.
In Venezuela 