Ricardo Fernández Barrueco, a Venezuelan businessman and emblem of the so-called “chaveburguesía,” seems to operate without boundaries. Neither imprisonment, business failures, nor financial scandals have prompted him to abandon his old ways. Years after being one of the richest men in the country, his name resurfaces amidst yet another murky episode: document forgery in Panama aimed at infiltrating investment funds. Yes, the same old story.
Just weeks ago, Fernández reemerged in Panama City. Not as the tycoon he once was but as an “investor” eager to enter the Panamanian financial system. He was spotted at a law firm with operations in Venezuela and Panama, specializing in channeling capital into real estate investments and private funds. In theory, everything appeared legal. Yet, in practice, we know how this ends.
Sources close to the firm indicate that Fernández Barrueco provided documentation to support his financial viability. Guarantees, bonds, bank statements… all quite presentable, until the legal team began verifying the documents. That’s when the facade crumbled: a significant portion of the paperwork was fake. Another attempt to sanitize his history to funnel dirty money into clean markets.
But as a veteran fraudster, he didn’t stick around to explain. The moment he sensed complications, he packed his bags and fled. This time, his destination was Spain. Rumor has it he’s hiding in some corner of northern Spain, in a coastal town, away from journalists, authorities, and courts. An old trick: when things heat up, disappear.
This scene isn’t new. It’s simply the latest chapter in a career built on political favors, shady dealings, and an audacity that seems endless.
The Rise: Trucks, Corn, and Millions
Fernández Barrueco began his business journey with a rice plant in Portuguesa. However, his major leap came during the oil strike of 2002. While half the country protested against Hugo Chávez, he offered his fleet of trucks to the government to distribute food. This propelled him forward. He quickly became the star supplier for Mercal, the flagship food program of chavismo.
At his peak, his group Proarepa controlled around 270 companies. His fortune was estimated at $1.6 billion. He owned mills, tuna factories, packaging plants, and fishing fleets. Key contacts like Adán Chávez, Diosdado Cabello, and Hugo Carvajal further solidified his power. He didn’t need lobbyists; he had it all.
Yet ambition knows no bounds. Between 2008 and 2009, he decided to venture into banking. He purchased four banks: Bolívar, BanPro, Confederado, and Canarias. He acquired these with loans he granted himself from the banks he had just bought. A classic move among pseudo-bankers in chavismo. When the government discovered the embezzlement, they intervened, and in November 2009, he was imprisoned.
Imprisonment, Release… and Return to Misconduct
He remained behind bars until 2013. In interviews, he portrayed himself as a victim of an internal war within chavismo. He claimed they used him to attack Chávez, insisted he had committed no crime, and labeled it all a political vendetta. He even blamed the Cubans for the crisis at Pdval. A festival of excuses.
In 2014, his case was dismissed. However, he never fully cleared his name. According to documents leaked in the FinCEN Files, he maintained suspicious operations worth millions, including a transaction with Deutsche Bank for $62.7 million. Rumors also emerged linking his tuna fleet to drug trafficking activities.
In 2023, his name resurfaced when reports revealed his wife, Daniela Stoppa, living in a luxurious apartment in Brickell, Miami, known for harboring ex-narcos and white-collar fugitives. Nothing new.
And now in 2024, he’s back at it in Panama, attempting to infiltrate the financial system with forged documents. Discovered, he escapes to Spain. The script repeats itself, as if no one is watching.
The Man Who Had It All and Still Won’t Give Up
Ricardo Fernández Barrueco reflects an era when chavismo created millionaires through contracts, favors, and chaos. He was a symbol of power, fell from grace, yet did not retire. He resurfaces, hides, and tries again. While he may not hold the same weight, he still plays his cards.
Meanwhile, his businesses were expropriated, his banks collapsed, and his “legacy” is a country facing one of the worst food crises in the continent.
The former Mercal czar didn’t vanish. He merely adapted. And he continues pursuing the same old goal: amassing wealth, regardless of the means.