Recently, a well-known journalist who is writing a book about Chavismo reached out to me about corruption in Venezuela, asking for names, figures, responsibilities, and so on. Corruption is the big elephant in the room.…
Marathon runners hit the wall. Writer’s block. But how can we define the moral dilemma faced by many bloggers and investigative journalists? The image of the whistleblower has recently been co-opted by Bradley Manning and…
An email from someone claiming to represent a construction company in Iraq recently landed in my inbox: Hello and Salam Elicum, I was referred to you by our Commercial Representation Manager in Venezuela. I am…
White hair. Measured tone of voice. Circumspect. Suit. Tie. Glasses. Dull gaze. Ineffectual speech. Politically correct. Timid attitude… Here we are faced with the “chief negotiator” of peace and the future of Venezuela, representing the…
The Mail on Sunday published an article yesterday about Tony Caplin titled “The Prime Minister Hired a Bankrupt Associate to Run a £60 Billion Quango: The Tycoon Put in Charge of the Treasury’s Vast Budget…
In addition to previous revelations about RaFa, the convicted criminal chosen by Bundesdruckerei (BDR) as its representative in Venezuela, Der Spiegel increases the pressure today with an article that questions Germany’s stance on this matter.…
Since Maduro complied with the orders of his Cuban handlers to send heavily armed thugs and the Venezuelan National Guard to kill, torture, terrorize, and arrest individuals participating in protests in Venezuela, a different battle…
The good people at Reporters Without Borders published a post titled “Corruption Beyond Limits in Venezuelan Internet,” highlighting the censorship of their site in Venezuela. Honestly, I was expecting a reaction from those mentioned, namely…
Official press release from BANESCO, denying claims about an alleged $50 million bribe paid by Derwick Associates to Venezuela’s Congress president, Diosdado Cabello, through BANESCO Panama. Translation of the previous paragraph: In the 15 countries…
I know, I know, today is Sunday, Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom, but the things happening on Twitter with @jescotet are too good to ignore. For those who don’t know who this gentleman is:…
Dear Sirs, Humbly acknowledging my lack of knowledge about all the words that make up our rich language, I recall the first time I went to the dictionary after hearing Hugo Chavez use the term…
Life seems to be getting increasingly difficult for Derwick Associates. A Venezuelan news site reported two days ago that Thor Halvorssen (whom I worked with at The Human Rights Foundation in 2008-2009) has filed a…
Descifrado.com reports that Thor Halvorssen (my former boss at The Human Rights Foundation) has filed a lawsuit against Derwick Associates (Alejandro Betancourt, Pedro Trebbau, and 25 others) in the 11th Circuit of Miami-Dade, Florida. Allegedly,…
In recent weeks, I’ve been trying to get Twitter to enforce its own guidelines concerning a “parody” account, likely run by hacker RaFa Nuñez, called @alekboydoficial. This is a prime example of the kind of…
infodioLeaks continues to provide some truly shocking leaks about corruption in Venezuela. One of the first questions directed at Derwick Associates, once it became known that they had been awarded 12 contracts through non-bid processes,…