Former Federal Planning minister Julio De Vido acquitted in a case probing the illegal entry of a suitcase containing US$800,000, allegedly sent from Venezuela by the Hugo Chávez government as a contribution to the presidential campaign of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in 2007.
A court in Buenos Aires Wednesday acquitted former Planning Minister Julio De Vido and AFIP tax bureau Chief Ricardo Echegaray for the 2007 attempted smuggling of a suitcase containing nearly US$ 800,000 which was being brought into the country by Guido Antonini Wilson, who was believed to be an envoy of then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
Venezuela recently surpassed Mexico as the third-largest supplierof crude oil to the U.S.-after Canada and Saudi Arabia. HugoChávez has already demonstrated his willingness to use oilas a tool against America. Therefore, absent a firm commitment forconstructive and verifiable cooperation by Chávez, the WhiteHouse should not renew ambassadorial relations.
Venezuela's former intelligence chief, General Hugo Armando Carvajal, allegedly tells Spanish courts that Caracas sent some US$21 million to Argentina to help fund Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s 2007 presidential campaign.