Maduro Purges Crypto Offices of ‘Mafia’ Influences
Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro says he has “purged mafia influences” from his government’s crypto regulators after overseeing the arrest of one of his former right-hand men. Find out more here.
Maduro claims successful launch of Petro cryptocurrency
(21 Feb 2018) Cash-strapped Venezuela on Tuesday became the first country to launch its own version of bitcoin, a move President Nicolas Maduro celebrated as putting his country on the world’s technological forefront.
In its first hours on the market, Maduro said the so-called petro raked in 735 million US dollars worth in purchases, without providing details.
The petro is backed by Venezuela’s crude oil reserves, the largest in the world, yet it hit the market as the socialist country sinks deeper into an economic crisis marked by soaring inflation and food shortages that force residents to queue for hours to buy common products.
The president also authorised payments in cryptocurrency for Venezuela’s consulate services and fuel on the border, saying it is just the “kryptonite” Venezuela needs to take on Superman – code for the United States.
Venezuelan officials, however, have released few of the nitty-gritty details of how it will work, ensuring investors that it is safe.
Venezuela-watchers offered potential investors fair warning.
Maduro late last year announced he was creating the digital currency to outmanoeuvre US sanctions preventing cash-strapped Venezuela from issuing new debt.
In a white paper, the government said it will release 100 million digital petro coins during the first year, with the initial 38.4 million expected to go on sale on Tuesday at a value of roughly 60 dollars per token.
If all the initial coins offered for sale are grabbed by investors, it could potentially bring several billion dollars into a government mired by cash shortfalls and skyrocketing inflation.
The government has promised that Venezuelans will be able to use the coins to pay taxes and public services.
But with the Venezuelan minimum wage hovering around 3 dollars a month, it’s unlikely citizens will buy in large amounts.
The US Treasury Department has warned US citizens and companies that buying the petro would mean violating sanctions, putting another damper on the release.
Cryptocurrency experts are looking at Venezuela’s foray into digital currencies with a mix of intrigue and suspicion, excited by the prospect of a government willing to accept cryptocurrency for payments like taxes but also concerned about the potential lack of oversight.
Maduro has touted the petro as fulfilling the late Hugo Chavez’s dream of upending global capitalism away from the dominance of the US dollar and Wall Street.
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Venezuela’s Cryptocurrency Catastrophe: How It Went So Wrong
Venezuela’s cryptocurrency experiment could’ve saved the nation’s economy. Here’s what went wrong.
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Venezuela’s cryptocurrency catastrophe had hopeful beginnings.
In December of 2017, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro announced that his regime would be adopting the “Petro,” the world’s first state-backed digital currency.
It was a revolutionary idea, and it could’ve saved the nation’s economy by mitigating the effects of rampant corruption. How Venezuela’s cryptocurrency plan unfolded, however, is a different story.
See the full article on Venezuela’s cryptocurrency here: https://www.freethink.com/shows/coded/season-3/venezuela-cryptocurrency
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U.S. Indicts Venezuela’s Maduro on Drug-Trafficking Charges With $15 Million Reward
The U.S. indicted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for drug trafficking on Thursday, offering a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest, as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on an adversary it has sought to push aside.
The U.S. also indicted 14 key Maduro associates, including former Vice President Diosdado Cabello, offering $10 million for information leading to their arrests. Charges were filed against the country’s defense minister, chief justice and superintendent of cryptocurrency.
“The Maduro regime is awash in corruption and criminality,” Attorney General William Barr said at a news conference in Washington, held remotely because of the coronavirus. “While the Venezuelan people suffer, this cabal lines their pockets with drug money and the proceeds of corruption.”
The charges allege a conspiracy involving the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a terrorist group that Barr said was determined to “flood the U.S. with cocaine.” He said that Maduro’s regime gives the FARC, as the group is known, authority to fly drug-filled planes over Venezuelan airspace and safely manufacture cocaine on its territory.
“We estimate that somewhere between 200 and 250 metric tons of cocaine are shipped out of Venezuela by these routes,” Barr said, adding that the shipments were equivalent to 30 million lethal doses of drugs.
The charges against Maduro — which also include weapons offenses and narco-terrorism — carry a minimum sentence of at least 50 years.
President Donald Trump and top U.S. officials have long sought to oust Maduro but have so far failed to replace him with the opposition leader they support, National Assembly President Juan Guaido.
While the U.S. has sanctioned most of Maduro’s inner circle, it had held off on filing drug charges against some senior Venezuelan officials because the Trump administration hoped they might turn on the autocrat. That ultimately led to a failed uprising in Caracas last April where some of those indicted stuck with Maduro rather than defect.
It’s unclear whether the indictments and rewards will create the conditions to push the regime aside. But they are likely to help Trump campaign for re-election in November in the key state of Florida, where Venezuelan and Cuban ex-patriots live in large numbers.
Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey and the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement that Maduro was indeed a criminal and dictator. But, he added, as coronavirus spreads, this is the time to join with international partners to help the Venezuelan people through increased humanitarian aid.
Barr, asked at the news conference about the timing of the announcement, said that as Venezuelans suffer from the virus and medical shortages, this is a time to remind them that their leaders are criminals who steal from them.
Some $2 billion worth of cocaine, about a quarter of what was produced in Colombia last year, passed through Venezuela before making its way to other countries, according to Jeremy McDermott, co-founder of Insight Crime, a research group that studies organized crime. He called it a fairly typical year for the traffic.
There’s evidence that the criminal groups that transport these drugs have infiltrated Venezuelan government security forces, forming a network known as the ‘Cartel of the Suns’ to facilitate the passage of illicit drugs into and out the country, according to a 2019 report by the United Nations’ International Narcotics Control Board.
Last year, Maduro’s former vice president, Tareck El Aissami, was charged with violating a U.S. law targeting foreign drug traffickers by using private jets supplied by American firms. Cabello had also previously been accused by the Treasury Department of narcotics trafficking, while two of Maduro’s nephews are serving prison sentences in the U.S. after convictions on drug charges.
The indictment against Maduro, who isn’t recognized by the U.S. and dozens of other nations, marks the first against a sitting head of state since the U.S. issued charges against former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega. Noriega was eventually captured and sentenced to prison after then-President George H. W. Bush sent troops to the country to bring him to justice.
“We do expect to eventually gain custody of these defendants,” Barr said of Maduro and his indicted aides.
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