The District Court of Columbia has ruled in favor of Venezuela in the prolonged case initiated by businessman Serafín García Armas—husband of former Chacao mayor Irene Sáez Conde—dismissing the nearly $400 million lawsuit he filed claiming Spanish citizenship and protection under the Bilateral Investment Protection Treaty (BIT) between Spain and Venezuela.
The ruling, issued within the framework of arbitration before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), concluded that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction to hear the case, determining that it is a conflict between Venezuelans, which is not protected by the bilateral treaty. García Armas had claimed that his investments, made through the companies Alimentos Frisa and Promotora Mediterránea, were irregularly expropriated during the surge of nationalizations driven by Hugo Chávez.
However, the Venezuelan legal team demonstrated that both García Armas and his daughter Karina García Gruber (niece of chavista rear admiral, Hernán Grüber Odremán) were Venezuelan citizens at the time they made those investments, and therefore could not qualify as foreign investors as established in the BIT. The court accepted the argument that their attempt to internationalize the case for massive compensation was legally unfounded.
A history of scandals
The case of García Armas, however, goes far beyond a legal dispute over expropriations. His figure has been embroiled in numerous investigations and allegations of corruption, currency fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion both in Venezuela and abroad.
In the 1990s, when he was known as “the fruit king,” he was investigated by the Venezuelan Congress for using preferential dollars to import products such as fruits, contaminated Chinese garlic, and colorful fish. He was later sued by supermarket chains like Central Madeirense and Plaza’s for selling prohibited Spanish cold cuts for health reasons.
The businessman has also been scrutinized in the United States, where he was investigated by the DEA for his connections with Ocean Bank, a financial institution that ended up under investigation for money laundering. Despite this, García Armas managed to acquire Ocean Mazda, one of the largest Mazda dealerships in Florida, along with his children Karina, Michael, and Jessica García.
In Chile, authorities launched an investigation against him for tax evasion of over $80 million related to overpriced food exports to Venezuela. The Venezuelan prosecutor’s office also accuses him of committing a embezzlement of $49 million through inflated import prices and fake purchases with shell companies, in collaboration with Chilean firms like Benipaula S.A. and MSM S.A.
Fishing in troubled waters?
From his mansion in Coral Gables, Serafín García Armas attempts to join the ranks of businessmen seeking multi-million dollar compensations over PDVSA’s foreign assets, such as Citgo, despite the allegations concerning his record.
This strategy aligns him with other businessmen like Tomás Elías González Benítez and Eligio Cedeño, who have been accused of amassing fortunes through fraudulent dealings with the Venezuelan state and are now trying to benefit from the international asset seizure process involving Venezuelan assets.
According to court records, the Garcías are seeking recognition of an award for over $351 million, composed of:
USD 242.4 million for Serafín García Armas
USD 94.5 million for Karina García Gruber
USD 14.4 million for other joint judicial creditors
Although Venezuelan lawyers succeeded in having part of the award annulled by the Paris Court of Appeals in October 2023, the remaining portion remains intact and served as a basis for this new legal action in the United States.
Beyond the award: justice or impunity?
Critical sectors believe that allowing these claims without assessing the background of the plaintiffs could open the door for actors who participated in the country’s embezzlement to now present themselves as victims. In this sense, civil organizations have called on the court to consider the extensive record of irregularities surrounding García Armas.
Sources linked to the case suggest that this ruling could impact similar proceedings initiated by other Chávez-era contractors who have attempted to litigate commercial and contractual disputes in international courts under acquired nationalities.
For many, this is not just a legal battle, but a test of whether international justice can discern between true investors and those who enriched themselves at the cost of a country’s hunger and plunder.