Monómeros was a company that was located in the eighth place of the 20 most profitable companies in the Caribbean region and its operating income was positioned at a value of 295 million dollars in 2018, both characteristics made it the most appetizing fraction of the cake for the Venezuelan opposition that was at the head of the National Assembly since 2015.
After the self-proclamation of Juan Guaidó, the opposition began the investigation of the most profitable companies of the Venezuelan State, finding Monómeros Colombo Venezolano created in 1967 as a partnership between the governments of both countries, but in 2006 the government of Hugo Chávez, through de Pequiven, a subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), acquires 100% of the capital.
Being one of the most desired assets by Guaidó and his environment, the interim, with the support of the Government of Iván Duque, illegally appropriated Monómeros, and at the end of May 2019 the representatives of the former parliamentarian -who is being investigated by the authorities Venezuelans for the corruption plot that involved their "interim" - they illegally swore in the new ad hoc board of directors that would be chaired by Jon Bilbao, a former manager who participated in the oil sabotage in 2002, which caused PDVSA billion-dollar losses; Carmen Elisa Hernández, a member of the defunct Gente de Petróleo party who, in addition to participating in the oil strike, years later held the position of director of the Mayor's Office of Baruta under the administration of the opposition Gerardo Blyde. Along with them, lawyer Yadid Jalaff, known for defending Canadian drug trafficker Steve Skinner, was sworn in. In Venezuela he made political life as coordinator of the Causa R party.
The ad hoc board of directors whose designation lacked legal validity due to the contempt in which the 2015 National Assembly remained, handles around 1,3 million tons of organic and inorganic substances that Monomers produce for large-scale planting. Furthermore, this Venezuelan-owned company is credited with distributing 46% of fertilizers and 70% of the demand for agrochemicals that growers need in Colombia.
The company that covers 52 hectares of land is located at the mouth of the Magdalena River and in the port of Buenaventura; It has its own docks, which allows the production to be transported to its buyers at a lower cost.
Bankruptcy. The so-called “former ambassador” of Guaidó in Colombia, Humberto Calderón Berti, denounced that the bankruptcy of Monómeros is the responsibility of the fugitive from Venezuelan justice, Leopoldo López. And it is that Berti said that López makes an unscrupulous use of the Venezuelan state, assured that "he excessively politicizes with an impressive sectarianism everything that falls into his hands."
In his statements, Calderón Berti asserted that the decision of the Superintendency of Companies of Colombia -which took control of Monómeros- is not to protect the company of the Government of Nicolás Maduro, but of the interim government itself, which has been diluted and is being investigated. for allegations of a corruption scheme perpetrated on Venezuelan assets abroad.
"What happened in Monómeros is the exaggerated, excessive politicization, which is what is happening in Citgo and has happened in PDVSA, with its exceptions," said Berti.
In his complaint, Calderón Berti, known for having held the positions of Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Chancellor and President of OPEC, said that Carmen Elisa Hernández, who had been appointed president of the board of directors of Monómeros and who resigned in recent days It also responded to the interests of Leopoldo López.
In his resignation letter, Hernández said that his decision was based on the denial of the internship to allow the supervision of Monomers by the Superintendency of Companies of Colombia, in his opinion that measure was the only mechanism to overcome the serious crisis he faces. the company.
In addition, Berti testified about the participation of Manuel Rosales in the meetings with the board of directors of Monómeros, where some of them pointed out why they had not been awarded contracts to people close to them.
Investigation. The Venezuelan Public Ministry opened an investigation against Guaidó and the ad hoc board of directors in Monómeros for committing the crime of usurpation of functions, treason, conspiracy, qualified theft of assets and criminal association. Prior to the announcement by the Venezuelan Prosecutor's Office, Guaidó supported the decision of the Superintendency of Colombia that announced the intervention of the state company based in that country.
Before the taking of Monómeros, the economist Francisco Rodríguez described the decision as unjustifiable and reiterated his call for a new administrative board to be appointed at the negotiating table in Mexico "to be in charge of the defense of the foreign assets of the nation."
Facts & figures
- 295 million dollars was the operational value of Monomers in 2018
- Venezuela acquired in 2006 100% of the capital of Monómeros.
