The Public Ministry formerly requested today the extradition of Alejandro Andrade, the former national treasurer who admitted to a U.S. court in September that he took $1 billion in bribes as part of a massive corruption scheme.
Speaking in a televised press conference, attorney general Tarek William Saab said that his office “has begun and investigation” into Andrade’s alleged corrupt activities, and that he had ordered his assets and bank accounts in Venezuela frozen.
Court documents unsealed on Tuesday revealed that Andrade–who served as national treasurer under Chavez between 2007-2011–admitted his role in the corruption scheme, which also involved a Venezuelan businessman named Raul Gorrin. According to Reuters:
Alejandro Andrade, who ran the treasury for four years under late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, received properties, platinum and gold Rolex watches and Mercedes Benz vehicles thanks to the scheme, the documents from the Southern District of Florida say.
Saab lashed out at Andrade during his press conference, and lamented the fact that Andrade is “living la dolce vita in a brutal and grotesque way” in the United States.
Colombia Suspects “Sabotage” from Caracas in Migrant Camp Unrest
The government of Colombia is investigating the possibility that a bout of unrest that broke out in a migrant camp in Bogota earlier this week was staged by agents from the National Guard.
On Monday, a group of Venezuelan migrants caused damage to a temporary camp in the Engativa area of Bogota. The perpetrators flipped over tents, as seen in the video below:
Today, the Colombian government announced that it had identified fourteen Venezuelans as the perpetrators of the unrest, and that three of them carried falsified documents.
Christian Kruger, the head of Colombia’s migration agency, cited confidential sources whom he claims have suggested that the individuals are members of the Venezuelan National Guard. Kruger said:
Additionally, we have access to some sources of information who’ve said that [the three individuals with false papers] are from the Venezuelan [National] Guard.
Kruger said that the individuals that they’ve identified as potential foreign agents “had been in other protests in other countries”, and that he suspects that their job is to “destabilize or affect” humanitarian efforts involving Venezuelan migrants.
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