The vice president of the ruling PSUV party, appeared in his weekly television show this evening and spoke on a number of topical issues, including yesterday’s court ruling in his favour in his lawsuit against the La Patilla news website.
During the show, Cabello taunted the head of La Patilla, Alberto Ravell, by saying that he would collect the Bs. 30 billion awarded to him in the lawsuit even if La Patilla did not have enough money to pay the sum, even if it meant selling the company’s assets. Cabello said:
La Patilla must pay this servant [Cabello] Bs. 30 billion for damages against my person, or we’ll come for whatever you’ve got.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that La Patilla had caused “moral damages” against Cabello after it shared international media reports on its website linking him to drug trafficking operations.
Bs. 30 billion is approximately 4.6 million USD at the current black market exchange rate.
Cabello also mocked La Patilla during the show, saying:
La Patilla is rotten. It’s take to make watermelon juice.
“Patilla” means watermelon in Venezuelan Spanish.
During the show, Cabello also said that he would not keep the money awarded to him. Rather, he claimed that he would use it for charitable causes:
That money isn’t for me. I’ve made a commitment to use that money to build a school for special needs children in Upata, and also here in Portuguesa. It’s not for me, because I don’t hoard riches.
Cabello has long been rumoured to be a leading figure in a drug cartel that operates inside the highest levels of the Maduro regime and the Venezuelan army.
In 2018, the Miami Herald reported that U.S. authorities had confiscated $800 million in assets belonging to Cabello. According to the publication, the assets included a dozen properties, including “a luxury apartment” in New York City.
Pompeo Speaks of Venezuelan Opposition in Leaked Audio
The Washington Post published an article today in which it outlines some of the comments on the Venezuelan opposition that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made during a candid meeting last week. Someone in the meeting recorded Pompeo’s comments, and the Washington Post gained access to the recording.
In the recording, Pompeo says that the U.S. “conundrum” in Venezuela has been keeping “the opposition united”. Pompeo says that the task has proven “devilishly difficult”, and went on to say:
The moment Maduro leaves, everybody’s going to raise their hands and [say], ‘Take me, I’m the next president of Venezuela.’ It would be forty-plus people who believe they’re the rightful heir to Maduro.
In the recording, Pompeo also says that Maduro “is mostly surrounded by Cubans” because he does not trust anyone in Venezuela, and suggested that members of his inner circle have been “plotting against him” individually.
Cabello to Pompeo: “Check Yourself”
During his show, Cabello taunted United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the fact that Maduro and the PSUV are still in power in Venezuela.
Cabello also responded to the leaked audio of Pompeo speaking on Venezuela, saying:
Pompeo, if you’ve been trying to unite the opposition with all of your power since you were the head of the CIA, check yourself, because you’re proving yourself to be hugely incompetent.
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