The US government expressed this Wednesday its support for the investigation undertaken by the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Madurodue to corruption within Chavismo and which is especially focused on the state oil company, PDVSA.
“We support efforts to crack down on corruption, including those in Venezuela, and we will continue to monitor the situation as it continues to unfold.”John Kirby, one of the White House spokesmen, stated at a press conference when asked by EFE.
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According to Kirby, the United States hopes that this investigation “be transparent, deep, and as independent as possible.”
“The investigation just started, so I guess I’m not going to put a grade on this task before they do it, but we urge the Venezuelan authorities to do this in a way that is accountable, transparent and credible,” Kirby said.
Maduro announced the investigation on Monday and has since authorities have arrested 19 senior officials allegedly linked to acts of corruption.
Of those 19 individuals, only five are known to be identities, among them the former head of the Superintendence of Cryptoactives (Sunacrip) Joselit Ramírez and the pro-government deputy Hugbel Roawhose parliamentary immunity was lifted on Tuesday, in addition to two judges and a Chavista mayor.
Also, due to investigations within the state oil company PDVSA, the until now Minister of Petroleum, Tareck El-Aissamiresigned his position this week, with the purpose of supporting that process, according to what he himself said.
Maduro accepted El Aissami’s resignation and on Tuesday appointed PDVSA president Pedro Tellechea as the new chief oil officer.
Nicolás Maduro rejected accusations by the United Nations Mission
The Government of Venezuela rejected last Wednesday the “false accusations” made by the United Nations Mission for the Determination of the Facts in the country, which held the Executive responsible for Nicolás Maduro of “frightening the civilian population and demobilizing political dissidence.”
“This pseudo mission (…) is a tangible example of double standards and the political use of international human rights mechanismswith the sole purpose of continuing to attack Venezuelan institutions,” says a statement from the Caribbean country’s Foreign Ministry.
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In the opinion of the so-called Bolivarian revolution, this investigative commission is part of “of the policy of regime change (in Venezuela) promoted by the United States authorities”.
“The infamous mission intends to continue misrepresenting reality with false media matrixes, aimed at encouraging the most extremist groupswho constantly try to disturb the peace and threaten the country’s democratic institutions,” the letter continues.
The Government of Maduro highlighted the progress in dialogue and cooperation with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (Acnudh), a dynamic that, it ratified, will maintain “in strict adherence to the principles of objectivity, non-selectivity, impartiality, respect for sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs.”
“Venezuela confirms that it does not recognize, nor will it recognize, guardianship or monitoring mechanisms such as this hostile Mission, which squanders UN resources and clearly violates the fundamental pillars of multilateralism and the principles that govern the work of the Human Rights Council,” the statement added.