For about three days officials of the National Police against Corruption (PNCC) and the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) were deployed in Ciudad Guayana. On Wednesday, March 29th, they began with some raids on some houses, and on Thursday, March 30th, they went to the headquarters of the Venezuelan Corporation of Guayana (CVG).
By Pableysa Ostos / Correspondent lapatilla.com
It was the Sebin patrol cars and the presence of hooded officials of both security agencies who alerted that something was afoot inside the state-owned facilities. The procedure began in the morning and lasted until noon when the units left the place in a caravan bound for their headquarters located in San Félix.
On some of these patrol cars they transferred the President of the CVG, Pedro Rolando Maldonado Marín, and five members of his board identified as Johan Sequera, Isaac Salazar (legal advisor), Carlos Moreno (General Manager of Traffic and Customs), Edgar Sánchez (Strategic Planning and Marketing) and Felipe Contreras (vice president of the Iron-Steel Sector).
Hours later, the President of the Siderúrgica del Orinoco (Sidor), Néstor Rolando Astudillo Leal, as well as the executive vice president of CVG, Lino Mora, and the finance manager, Tulio Medina, were arrested in their offices, for a total of nine detainees. .
This same March 30th, they were transferred to Caracas, where it is estimated they will be presentedbefore a court. And this March 31, the commissions were carrying out inspections of the companies and offices of those apprehended. Some of the offices inspected were: marketing, planning and administration.
For its part, the Public Ministry appointed national prosecutors 50, 67 and 73 with full jurisdiction to investigate the alleged acts of corruption that occurred in the CVG.
Whoever falls
On Friday, March 24th, at an event in Sidor, Ángel Marcano, Governor of Bolívar State, stated: “Anyone who has problems, who has done some improper act, of course he will have to pay the consequences of his actions. And whoever falls, falls, everyone has to respond to the consequences of their actions. We are not pimpin anyone.” In this same event was present the president of the CVG, Pedro Maldonado, today detained by the PNCC.
The operation that takes place in Ciudad Guayana, bears the name of that phrase used by Marcano during his statements: “whoever falls, falls.”
Through a statement, the PNCC stated that: “following the instructions of the Head of State, Nicolás Maduro Moros, this relentless fight against corruption and moral decomposition undertaken by the Bolivarian Government in all areas of national life, continues to produce results. Furthermore, we inform the people that, as a result of the rigorous investigations and the statements made by the criminal gang that is being prosecuted, today the second phase of the special operation “Caiga quien caiga” was carried out in the Venezuelan Corporation of Guyana (CVG).”
“As a result of this, we have initiated a new request to the Public Ministry for the judicial prosecution of a group of officials and businessmen who, violating the sacred oath of honesty and ethics, could be involved in serious acts of administrative corruption and embezzlement, in a clear and harmful action against the patrimony of the Nation and the sacred interests of the Venezuelan people. We reiterate our willingness to comply with the instructions to combat and prosecute these despicable crimes against the Republic. We will not stop at the duty of confronting the scourge of corruption and punishing in an exemplary manner those who commit these criminal acts, whoever is responsible,” reads the statement.
Who are Pedro Maldonado and Nestor Astudillo?
Maldonado was general director of the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) from 2010 to 2014, then he assumed the presidency of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) in 2017, and a year later, specifically on July 6th, 2018, according to Official Gazette No. 41,434, he took over the Presidency of the Venezuelan Corporation of Guayana (CVG), a position he held until March 28th, 2023 when he was arrested.
Between March 19th and 20th, audios circulated via WhatsApp about the alleged arrest of Pedro Maldonado by the National Anti-Corruption Police.
On March 21st, the social media accounts of Ferrominera Orinoco published a series of photographs in which Maldonado appeared, thus refuting the rumors about his alleged arrest for acts of corruption.
March 24th was the last public act in which Maldonado was seen. It was in gate I of the “Siderúrgica del Orinoco” (Sidor, government run smelter), but he was not alone. He was in the company of the Governor of the Bolívar State, Ángel Marcano, the Mayor of the Caroní Municipality, Tito Oviedo, and the Minister of Industries, Hipólito Abreu.
The reason for this event was to support Maduro for the recent measures taken against corruption and privatization, and also to inform the workers what were the conclusions from the five work groups that have been taking place for more than a month with representatives of the basic companies and the National Executive.
Unlike Maldonado, Astudillo Leal was born in Bolívar State. He was then appointed President of Sidor in Resolution No. 008 of the Ministry of Industries and National Production, the one who signed said resolution was Minister Tareck El Aissami and it was published in the Official Gazette No. 41,836, dated March 10th, 2020. .
Astudillo, replaced Yajaira Rangel, who had held this position since August 2019.
According to the regional press of Ciudad Guayana, “Astudillo has more than 18 years of experience in the company. He held positions in Cold Rolling, Maintenance, Annealing and Tempering, among other areas of the company.” He also served as vice president and member of the Industrial Production Commission.
On August 16th, 2021, a new Sidor board of directors, headed by Astudillo, was installed to take office during that year. A day later, on August 17th, 2021, Astudillo asserted that “in one year it has been possible to reactivate 12 plants within the complex (Sidor) such as the pella plant; the air separation complex -which produces oxygen-, and the areas of billets, wire rods, liquid steel, among others,” according to Poderopedia.
Workers make a call
A group of workers standing outside the headquarters of the CVG made a call to Maduro. “On Wednesday of last week we took some actions together with all the “Futseb” unions and all the unions of the basic industries, we made some complaints here at the CVG facilities.”
“Today we again call on you President Nicolás Maduro, we the workers, those of us who gave our lives here, the pensioners and retirees of Bolívar State call on you President, clearly and precisely without political discourse or color distinctions. We, the workers, no longer want rotating people in the companies in Bolívar, we want new people, with ideas with proposals that develop the basic companies and that will restore the morale of all the workers and the union institutionality,” said Daniel Romero.
After what happened in the last few hours, “rumors” have been heard about who could take over the reins of CVG and Sidor. Faced with this unknown, Romero commented that: “many rumors are heard in the Bolívar State, we wish and have the hope and faith that you will make an accurate decision, not to favor those same corrupt sectors that have created a leadership in Bolívar State as they continue to run as mafias the different sectors from different institutions for years.”
For his part, Leonardo Azócar, Secretary of Labor and Claims of Sutiss, called on all workers: “We are going to maintain unity, and to the “Futseb” construction workers union and the different unions of the basic companies, we state that here is the Sutiss union fighting for the workers, fighting hand in hand with the people, fighting hand in hand for those workers who took to the streets, retirees with a Pyrrhic salary, who really gave their lives for the company, taking the companies forward and today they are suffering with this economy that is destroying our salary, that criminal dollar that is destroying the salary of the workers.”
No more lies
A week ago, during a visit to Bolívar State, the Minister of Industry, Hipólito Abreu, told a group of workers that “we agreed to the permanent study and analysis of wages to achieve the benefits of the working class in our basic industries. Fortnight by fortnight, in a planned way, they will see that the integral income is going to improve.”
Abreu also reported that a process of reinstatement of non-required workers who had been excluded from the company without receiving any benefits would begin, despite the fact that the status of non-required does not exist in the Constitution or in the Organic Labor Law (Lottt).
“Starting in April, non-active colleagues will gradually begin to join their posts in the plants, under a schedule that will be announced in the coming days by the same work tables,” he declared.
Also, Azócar pointed out that “Hipólito is surrounded by a great cadre that has managed state policy here. A corrupt leadership that has gone against the benefits of the production of these companies and the benefits of the workers. Hipólito is bad enough that you let yourself be fooled by that leadership of the Bolívar State and the FBT, the leadership of the FBT that dominates here in Bolívar State.”
“That corrupt leadership that there is of unionists who are part of the past. Meet the true union leaders, meet with the working class so that when you address the working class of Guyana and the people of Guyana, do not address the workers by telling lies, because you gave a rally in Sidor and what you came was to lie to the workers.” he added.