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On April 15, 2024, former Minister of Economy and Finance, Simón Zerpa, was accused of playing a spy role to provide the United States with vital information about Venezuela. This information was intended to facilitate the entry of food and medicine into the country, according to intelligence reports.
Zerpa allegedly informed the Americans about the entire itinerary of a flight taken by Alex Saab in June 2020. This information led Interpol agents to capture Saab in Cape Verde on June 12, 2020, after which he was extradited to the United States the following year.
The capture of Saab by the US was believed to be part of an effort to prevent essential supplies like food, medicine, and fuel from reaching Venezuela due to sanctions imposed by the United States. The goal was to create turmoil in Venezuela and oust President Nicolás Maduro.
Recently, Zerpa was arrested along with former PDVSA president Tarek El Aissami and businessman Samark López for their involvement in a plan to destabilize the Venezuelan economy. The scheme involved embezzling foreign currency from oil sales and manipulating the value of the parallel dollar to cause economic havoc.
President Maduro became aware of this plan in late 2022 when he noticed unusual movements in the parallel dollar rate. This led to the Anti-Corruption Operation that resulted in the arrest of several officials and businessmen, including Zerpa, El Aissami, and López.
The operation continued with the recent arrest of former vice ministers and more individuals who were allegedly part of the scheme. These arrests signify a crackdown on corruption and efforts to restore economic stability in Venezuela.
