Miranda state Governor Henrique Capriles took to Twitter today to remind Venezuelans that the embezzlement of approximately 20 billion dollars through CADIVI has gone largely unpunished. He also called for more transparency, namely in the form of a list of companies that have received money through CADIVI, so as to try to avoid the mistakes that led to the monumental theft.
In Venezuela, anyone wishing to obtain U.S. dollars through official means has to apply for them through CENCOEX (formerly CADIVI). This includes companies in the business of importing goods.
Last May, an investigation by a National Assembly commission discovered that approximately 20 billion dollars had been embezzled through CADIVI between 2011 and 2013 alone. The investigation found that the government was “very permissive” when it came to giving U.S. dollars to companies that never ended up importing any goods.
Capriles also weighed in on the alleged upcoming monetary reform announcement. Maduro has made vague hints recently that he was going to announce some kind of change to the country’s currency and exchange system, although it’s unclear when the changes – if any – will be made.
Expecting that the announcement would come today, Capriles said:
Let’s see what they come up with today in terms of the exchange system. It smells like another devaluation!
2014 Sees Thousands of Weapons Destroyed
The Ministry of Justice and Peace announced today that it destroyed 26,518 firearms in 2014. The firearms were destroyed as apart of an initiative called Plan Desarme Voluntario (Voluntary Disarmament Plan). The announcement was made by Minister of Justice and Peace Carmen Melendez through her Twitter account.
Back in September, Maduro spoke on his government’s drive to creating a safer Venezuela by removing weapons from the streets, saying:
We’re creating peace from the inside, and to do this we need to disarm, to finally achieve peace. It’s necessary that this disarmament be carried out with the collaboration of our youth.
In Venezuela 