Diosdado Cabello
Diosdado Cabello Rondón (born 15 April 1963[1]) is a Venezuelan politician and current member of the National Assembly of Venezuela, where he previously served as Speaker. He is also an active member of the Venezuelan armed forces, with the rank of captain.
Diosdado Cabello | |
|---|---|
Cabello in 2019. | |
| President of the 2017 Constituent Assembly | |
| In office 19 June 2018 – 18 December 2020 | |
| President | Nicolás Maduro |
| Preceded by | Delcy Rodríguez |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Vice President of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela | |
| Assumed office 11 December 2011 | |
| President | Hugo Chávez Nicolás Maduro |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| President of Venezuela | |
| Acting 13 April 2002 – 14 April 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Pedro Carmona (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Hugo Chávez |
| Vice President of Venezuela | |
| In office 13 January 2002 – 28 April 2002 | |
| President | Hugo Chávez |
| Preceded by | Adina Bastidas |
| Succeeded by | José Vicente Rangel |
| 6th President of the National Assembly | |
| In office 5 January 2012 – 5 January 2016 | |
| President | |
| Preceded by | Fernando Soto Rojas |
| Succeeded by | Henry Ramos Allup |
| Governor of Miranda | |
| In office 31 October 2004 – 29 November 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Enrique Mendoza |
| Succeeded by | Henrique Capriles Radonski |
| Minister of Interior and Justice | |
| In office 28 April 2002 – 10 January 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Ramón Rodríguez Chacín |
| Succeeded by | Lucas Rincón Romero |
| Deputy of the National Assembly of Venezuela | |
| In office 5 January 2011 – 5 December 2021 | |
| Constituency | Venezuela at-large |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Diosdado Cabello Rondón 15 April 1963 El Furrial, Monagas, Venezuela |
| Political party |
|
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) |
| Spouse | Marleny Contreras |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | José David Cabello (brother) Glenna Cabello (sister) |
| Profession | Engineer |
Cabello played a key role in Hugo Chávez's return to power following the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt. He became a leading member of Chavez’s Movimiento V República (MVR), and remains a leading member of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela, into which MVR was merged in 2007. Governor of Miranda state from 2004 to 2008, he lost the 2008 election to prominent opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski and was subsequently appointed Public Works & Housing Minister. In November 2009, he was additionally appointed head of the National Commission of Telecommunications, a position traditionally independent from the Ministry of Public Works and Housing.[2] In 2010, he was elected a member of parliament by his home state of Monagas. In 2011, President Hugo Chávez named him the vice president of Venezuela’s ruling party, the PSUV.[citation needed] In 2012, he was elected and sworn in as President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, the country’s parliament.[3] He was elected president of the National Assembly each year until 2016. He was the second and last president of the 2017 National Constituent Assembly.
Allegations of corruption involving Cabello includes being head of an international drug trafficking organization,[4][5] accepting bribes from Derwick Associates for public works projects in Venezuela,[6] using nepotism to reward friends and family members[7] and directing colectivos while paying them with funds from Petróleos de Venezuela.[8] In 2013, there were at least 17 formal corruption allegations lodged against Cabello in Venezuela's prosecutors office.[9] On 26 March 2020, the U.S. Department of State offered $10 million for information to bring him to justice in relation to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.[10]
Often described as the second most,[11][12] if not the most,[citation needed] powerful man in Venezuela, Reuters notes that Cabello possesses significant "sway with the military and lawmakers plus close links to businessmen."[13]
Early life and education edit
Diosdado Cabello was born in El Furrial, in the state of Monagas.[1] In 1987, he graduated second in his class from the Venezuelan Military Academy.[14] His measured intelligence quotient (IQ) was ranked as the fifth-highest among all students in the institution's history.[15][16][17] His background is in engineering. He has an undergraduate degree in systems engineering from the Instituto Universitario Politécnico de las Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales and a graduate degree in engineering project management from the Andrés Bello Catholic University.[1]
Military career edit
While at Instituto Universitario Politécnico de las Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales, Cabello befriended Hugo Chávez and they played on the same baseball team.[18]
During Chávez’s abortive coup d'état of February 1992 against the government of then-President Carlos Andrés Pérez, Cabello led a group of four tanks to attack Miraflores Palace.[18] Cabello was jailed for his participation in the coup, though President Rafael Caldera later pardoned him with the rest of the coup participants and Cabello was released after only two years without any charges.[19]
Political career edit
After Chávez was released from jail in 1994, Cabello helped him run his political campaign as he was a prominent member of the Fifth Republic Movement Chávez was leading.[citation needed] Following Chávez’s 1998 electoral victory, he helped set up the pro-Chávez grassroots civil society organizations known as "Bolivarian Circles" which have been compared to Cuba's Committees for the Defence of the Revolution and are parent organizations for the Colectivos.
From 1999-2000, Cabello was head of the national telecommunications commission (CONATEL). The main telecommunications law he helped promulgate, known as the "Organic Telecommunications Law" (2000), was especially praised by the private sector.[20] Specifically, it ended the state's prior monopoly on the industry and fostered a significant level of free-market competition, as Cabello's work helped increase the treasury's revenue by $400 million dollars at a time when oil prices were not especially high.[20]
In May 2001, he became Chavez' chief of staff, and was appointed Vice President by President Hugo Chávez on 13 January 2002, replacing Adina Bastidas.[19] As such, he was responsible to both the president and the National Assembly, and for the relations between the executive and legislative branches of the government.
On 13 April 2002, he took on the duties of the presidency on a temporary basis, replacing Pedro Carmona, head of the Venezuelan Chamber of Commerce, as interim president during the coup d'état attempt when Chávez was kept prisoner and was consequently absent from office.[21] Upon taking office, Cabello said that "I, Diosdado Cabello, am assuming the presidency until such time as the president of the republic, Hugo Chávez Frías, appears." A few hours later, Chávez was back in office. This made Cabello’s presidency the world’s second briefest, after that of Mexican President Pedro Lascuráin.
On 28 April 2002, Cabello was replaced as Vice President by José Vicente Rangel. Cabello was named interior minister in May 2002,[22] and then infrastructure minister in January 2003.
| Miranda State Governor Election, 2008 Results Source: CNE data | |||||||||
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In October 2004, Cabello was elected to a four-year term as Governor of Miranda State. He lost the 2008 election to Henrique Capriles Radonski, and was subsequently appointed Public Works & Housing Minister.
In 2009 he was additionally appointed head of Conatel.[2] On 1 August 2009, 32 radio and 2 television stations were intervened,[23] decision ordered by Cabello. The measure was received as an act of censorship by several non-governmental and international organizations.[24][25][26][27]
On 11 December 2011, Cabello was installed as the Vice-President of the United Socialist Party (PSUV), thus becoming the second most powerful figure in the party after Hugo Chávez.[28]
Cabello was appointed president of the National Assembly in early 2012 and was re-elected to that post in January 2013.[29]
Cabello’s status after the death of Hugo Chávez was disputed. Some argue that Cabello was constitutionally required to be the acting President, but Nicolás Maduro held the position.[30]
Often described as the second most,[11][12] if not the most,[citation needed] powerful man in Venezuela, Reuters notes that Cabello possesses significant "sway with the military and lawmakers plus close links to businessmen."[13] Despite serving as the leader of Chavez' party, his overall reputation is that of a pragmatist rather than an ideologue.[13][31]
Television program edit
Cabello has his own weekly program on Venezolana de Televisión, Con el Mazo Dando (Going at it with the Club).[32][33] In that program, Cabello talks about the government's view on many political issues and presents accusations against the opposition. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has expressed concerns about how the program has intimidated people that went to the IACHR denouncing the government.[34] Some Venezuelan commentators have compared the use of illegally recorded private conversations on programs such as Cabello's to the practices in place in the East Germany as shown in the film The Life of Others.[35]
Amnesty International has denounced the way in which Cabello has revealed details on the travel arrangements of two human rights defenders in his program and how he routinely shows state monitoring of people that may disagree with the government.[36]
Personal life edit
His wife, Marleny Contreras, was elected as a member of the National Assembly until she became minister of tourism in 2015.[37] Cabello’s sister, Glenna, is a political scientist and was Counsellor of the Venezuelan Permanent Mission to the United Nations.[38] His brother, José David, previously minister of infrastructure, is in charge of the nation’s taxes as head of SENIAT, Venezuela’s revenue service.[28] Now José David is also minister of Industries.
On 9 July 2020, Cabello tested positive for COVID-19, during the pandemic in Venezuela.[39]
Controversies edit
Cabello was nicknamed "the octopus" by Rory Carroll for having "tentacles everywhere."[40] He is very influential in the Venezuelan government, using a network of patronage throughout the military, ministries and pro-government militias.[40] He was described by a contributor to The Atlantic as the "Frank Underwood" of Venezuela under whose watch the National Assembly of Venezuela has made a habit of ignoring constitutional hurdles entirely—at various times preventing opposition members from speaking in session, suspending their salaries, stripping particularly problematic legislators of parliamentary immunity, and, on one occasion, even presiding over the physical beating of unfriendly lawmakers while the assembly was meeting.[7][41][42]
Information presented to the United States State Department by Stratfor claimed that Cabello was "head of one of the major centers of corruption in Venezuela."[6] A leaked U.S. Embassy cable from 2009 characterized Cabello as a "major pole" of corruption within the regime, describing him as "amassing great power and control over the regime’s apparatus as well as a private fortune, often through intimidation behind the scenes". The communiqué likewise created speculation that "Chavez himself might be concerned about Cabello's growing influence but unable to diminish it."[7]
Drug trafficking edit
Allegations of corruption involving Cabello includes being head of an international drug trafficking organization,[4][5] accepting bribes from Derwick Associates for public works projects in Venezuela,[6] using nepotism to reward friends and family members[7] and directing colectivos while paying them with funds from Petróleos de Venezuela.[8] In 2013, there were at least 17 formal corruption allegations lodged against Cabello in Venezuela's prosecutors office.[9]
On 27 January 2015, reports accusing Cabello of drug trafficking emerged.[43][44][45] In a series of investigations by the United States government, it was stated that Cabello's alleged involvement in the drug trade as the "capo" [sic] (head) of the Cartel of the Suns (Spanish Cartel de los soles), had also involved high-ranking generals of Venezuelan military.[46][47][48]
On 26 March 2020, the U.S. Department of State offered $10 million for information to bring him to justice in relation to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.[10]
Assassination plot targeting Marco Rubio edit
In mid-July 2017, reporters in Washington, D.C. observed an increased security presence surrounding United States Senator Marco Rubio. A month later on 13 August 2017, The Miami Herald reported that Diosdado Cabello potentially initiated an assassination plot targeting Rubio, allegedly contacting Mexican nationals to discuss killing Rubio. Rubio, who is a critic of the Venezuelan government, has led an effort in the United States government to take action against officials of the Latin American government, often singling out Cabello. The Department of Homeland Security could not verify all of the details involved in the threat, though the plan was serious enough that multiple law enforcement agencies were contacted about the incident and Rubio's security detail had increased in size.[49]
Sanctions edit
Cabello has been sanctioned by several countries and is banned from entering neighboring Colombia. The Colombian government maintains a list of people banned from entering Colombia or subject to expulsion; as of January 2019, the list had 200 people with a "close relationship and support for the Nicolás Maduro regime".[50][51]
Canada edit
Canada sanctioned 40 Venezuelan officials, including Cabello, in September 2017.[52][53] The sanctions were for behaviors that undermined democracy after at least 125 people were killed in the 2017 Venezuelan protests and "in response to the government of Venezuela's deepening descent into dictatorship".[52] Canadians were banned from transactions with the 40 individuals, whose Canadian assets were frozen.[52] The sanctions noted a rupture of Venezuela's constitutional order.[54]
European Union edit
The European Union sanctioned Cabello and six other Venezuela officials on 18 January 2018, singling them out as being responsible for deteriorating democracy in the country.[55] The sanctioned individuals were prohibited from entering the nations of the European Union, and their assets were frozen.[56] Cabello, known as number two in Chavismo, had not been sanctioned by the U.S. when the European Union sanctioned him.[56]
United States edit
On 18 May 2018, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury placed sanctions in effect against Cabello, his wife, his brother and his "testaferro" Rafael Sarria. OFAC stated that Cabello and others used their power within the Bolivarian government "to personally profit from extortion, money laundering, and embezzlement", with Cabello allegedly directing drug trafficking activities with Vice President of Venezuela, Tareck El Aissami while dividing profits with President Nicolás Maduro. The Office also stated that Cabello would use public information to track wealth individuals who were potentially drug trafficking and steal their drugs and property in order to get rid of potential competition.[57]
As a result of the sanctions, reports estimate that approximately $800 million worth of assets were frozen by the United States government. Cabello denied the reports, stating that it would be foolish to have assets located in a place where they could be seized.[58]
Switzerland edit
On 28 March 2018, Cabello was sanctioned by Switzerland due to "human rights violations and the deterioration of the rule of law and democratic institutions", freezing their funds and banning them from entering Switzerland.[59][60]
Mexico edit
The Mexican Senate froze the assets of officials of the Maduro administration, including Cabello, and prohibited them from entering Mexico on 20 April 2018.[61]
Panama edit
In March 2018, Panama sanctioned 55 public officials, including Cabello;[62] the officials were sanctioned by the Panamanian government for their alleged involvement with "money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction".[63]
References edit
- ^ a b c Vicepresidencia de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela also drug lord of Venezuela. Murderer and drug trafficker, head of the cartel de los soles , atentamente alcardone Diosdado Cabello Rondón 26 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 19 April 2010
- ^ a b "Chavez eliminates autonomy of broadcasting commission," 27 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine Informe21, 11 November 2009.
- ^ "Diosdado Cabello is the new president of the National Assembly". El Universal.
- ^ a b Maria Delgado, Antonio (26 January 2015). "Identifican a Diosdado Cabello como jefe del Cartel de los Soles". El Nuevo Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- ^ a b Blasco, Emili J. (27 January 2015). "El jefe de seguridad del número dos chavista deserta a EE.UU. y le acusa de narcotráfico". ABC. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- ^ a b c . El Nuevo Herald. 28 March 2014. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d "The Frank Underwood of Venezuela". The Atlantic. 6 March 2014.
- ^ a b . Ahora Vision. 29 March 2014. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ a b [1] [2] 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Department of State Offers Rewards for Information to Bring Venezuelan Drug Traffickers to Justice". state.gov. 26 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Top Venezuelan official announces "justice will go after" Capriles". EL PAIS. 14 August 2013.
- ^ a b "Internal affairs denies issuing passport to a Venezuelan". New Vision. [permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c Parraga, Mario Naranjo (23 March 2012). "Chavez's army ally rises to fore in Venezuela". REUTERS.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ Lares Martiz, Valentina (20 May 2015). "Diosdado, el poder detrás del poder en Venezuela". El Tiempo.
- ^ Núñez, Rogelio (2012). "Diosdado Cabello se perfila como el heredero del chavismo". Asociación Civil Control Ciudadano. [permanent dead link]
- ^ Gómez Velásquez, Berenice (2003). Así paga el Diablo...a quien bien le sirve. Link to digital version: <www.urru.org/papers/ASI_PAGA_EL_DIABLO_A_QUIEN_BIEN_LE_SIRVE.PDF>: Urru. p. 105.
- ^ a b DeCórdoba, José; Forero, Juan (18 May 2015). "Venezuelan Officials Suspected of Turning Country into Global Cocaine Hub; U.S. probe targets No. 2 official Diosdado Cabello, several others, on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering". Dow Jones & Company Inc. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
- ^ a b . Archived from the original on 20 November 2007. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)"Chavez Dismisses Vice President," Associated Press, 13 January 2002. - ^ a b Alcalá, Luis Enrique (2012). LAS ÉLITES CULPOSAS: Memorias imprudentes (PDF). Venezuela: Editorial Libros Marcados, C. A. p. 133. ISBN 978-980-408-001-2. (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2014.
- ^ His first order was to send a group of elite navy troops to rescue Mr Chavez, who was being held prisoner by renegade forces at a base on a Caribbean island. "Venezuela National Assembly chief: Diosdado Cabello". BBC News. 5 January 2013.
- ^ "Venezuela president names new cabinet", BBC News, 6 May 2002.
- ^ "Chávez cierra 34 emisoras de radio venezolanas críticas con su política". EL PAÍS (in Spanish). Ediciones El País. 2 August 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ "Radio". ipysvenezuela.org. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ . www.cnpven.org. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ OEA (1 August 2009). "OEA - Organización de los Estados Americanos: Democracia para la paz, la seguridad y el desarrollo". www.oas.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ "Venezuela". sipconnect (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ a b "Venezuela National Assembly chief: Diosdado Cabello". BBC News. 5 January 2013.
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- ^ . Diario Uno (in Spanish). Associated Press. 5 March 2013. Archived from the original on 7 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- ^ Villareal, Ryan (30 May 2012). "Hugo Chavez's Terminal Mystery Cancer And Venezuela's Looming Power Vacuum". International Business Times.
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- ^ "Venezuelan officials suspected of turning the country into global cocaine hub (Wall Street Journal)". WSJ.
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- ^ La Vida de los Otros (El Nacional) 21 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ^ "Diputada Marlenys Contreras: "La mujer venezolana es Socialista y Revolucionaria"". Asamblea Nacional. Archived from the original on 7 January 2013.
- ^ "Assembly Hears Report from Sixth Committee". United Nations News and Media. 6 December 2010. from the original on 7 January 2013.
- ^ "Venezuelan socialist party leader Diosdado Cabello tests positive for COVID-19". Reuters. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ a b Carroll, Rory (2013). Comandante : myth and reality in Hugo Chávez's Venezuela. Penguin Press: New York. pp. 122–123. ISBN 9781594204579.
- ^ . Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014.
- ^ "The Billion-dollar Fraud". The Economist. 10 August 2013.
- ^ "El jefe de seguridad del número dos chavista deserta a EE.UU. y le acusa de narcotráfico". ABC (Spain). 27 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- ^ Antonio Maria Delgado (26 January 2015). "Identifican a Diosdado Cabello como jefe del Cartel de los Soles". El Nuevo Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- ^ . NTN24. 26 January 2015. Archived from the original on 30 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- ^ "Supuesta investigación señala que Diosdado Cabello sería jefe de cartel de narcotráfico". 28 January 2015.
- ^ "Diosdado Cabello y el "Cartel de los Soles"".
- ^ . Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- ^ Mazzei, Patricia (13 August 2017). "Powerful Venezuelan lawmaker may have issued death order against Rubio". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ "Maduro encabeza lista de 200 venezolanos que no pueden entrar al país" [Maduro tops list of 200 Venezuelans who can not enter the country]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). 30 January 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Primera parte de lista de colaboradores de Maduro que no pueden ingresar a Colombia" [First part of list of Maduro collaborators who can not enter Colombia] (in Spanish). RCN Radio. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ a b c "Canada imposes sanctions on key Venezuelan officials". CBC Canada. Thomson Reuters. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ Zilio, Michelle (22 September 2017). "Canada sanctions 40 Venezuelans with links to political, economic crisis". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 3 April 2019. Also at Punto de Corte 4 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine and El Nacional
- ^ "Venezuela sanctions". Government of Canada. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
- ^ "Quiénes son los 7 funcionarios de Venezuela sancionados por la Unión Europea y de qué se les acusa". BBC Mundo (in Spanish). 22 January 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ a b . Associated Press. 22 January 2018. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
- ^ "Treasury Targets Influential Former Venezuelan Official and His Corruption Network". Office of Foreign Assets Control. United States Department of the Treasury. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
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- ^ "México rechaza elecciones en Venezuela y sanciona a siete funcionarios". Sumarium group (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 April 2018. [permanent dead link] Also at VPITV
- ^ "Los 55 funcionarios sancionados por Panamá por 'blanqueo de capitales'". El Nacional (in Spanish). 30 March 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2019. Also at Panama Economic and Finance Ministry 5 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ . El Cooperante (in European Spanish). 29 March 2018. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.