A fugitive who allegedly profited from programs designed to assist Venezuelans is now in custody in the U.S., facing serious charges linked to a broad corruption scandal associated with Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
Alvaro Pulido Vargas, aged 62, was apprehended during an operation by a Homeland Security Task Force and is set to appear in federal court in South Florida on Tuesday, October 13, as announced by the Justice Department.
The Colombian national is involved in two criminal cases claiming he assisted in routing money from bribery schemes orchestrated by the Venezuelan government through U.S. banks to conceal illegal earnings.
“Pulido is implicated in two distinct, significant money laundering operations, both leveraging the U.S. financial system to obscure the profits derived from his corrupt practices against the Venezuelan populace,” stated Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva.
Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed the arrest on Sunday on X, alleging that Pulido Vargas took advantage of programs meant to provide essential food and housing.
“His purported actions display a shocking disregard for the Venezuelan people, corrupting government initiatives intended to supply vital resources for his own financial gain, and manipulating the American financial system to achieve it,” Blanche noted.
Also known as German Enrique Rubio Salas, Pulido Vargas faced charges in both 2019 and 2021. The Justice Department noted that he was previously convicted of drug trafficking in Italy in 1997 under that name.
“For years, the DEA and our HSTF collaborators have been pursuing Pulido Vargas across international borders. Today, this pursuit has led us to the Southern District of Florida,” remarked DEA Administrator Terrance Cole.
The more recent case involves around $1.6 billion in government contracts from Venezuela for food and medicine distribution through the CLAP program, which is state-run.
According to prosecutors, Pulido Vargas and his associates allegedly bribed officials to secure these contracts and then raised prices to accommodate those bribes, banking profits in the process. This scheme supposedly lasted from about July 2015 to at least 2020.
Included in the charges are his son, Emmanuel Enrique Rubio Gonzalez, and former Venezuelan state governor Jose Gregorio Vielma-Mora, among others.
Prosecutors claim that Vielma-Mora and an intermediary amassed approximately $17.3 million in bribes and illegal payments to facilitate government food contracts and other business opportunities for the group.
The funds reportedly circulated through a network of companies and bank accounts across various locations, including Antigua, the United Arab Emirates, and the U.S. The 2021 indictment outlines fabricated contracts and other documentation allegedly used to legitimize these questionable payments.
An estimated $180 million moved through or into the United States, with some funds lodged in South Florida accounts, according to prosecutors.
“These allegations depict a severe betrayal of the Venezuelan populace, corrupting programs meant to supply vital resources for personal gain,” commented U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones.
The previous case focuses on an alleged scheme to profit from a program intended for constructing homes for low-income citizens in Venezuela.
Pulido Vargas and Maduro associate Alex Nain Saab Moran were charged in 2019 for exploiting a housing contract to manipulate Venezuela’s currency exchange system governed by the state.
The duo supposedly submitted false documents asserting the import of goods and construction materials that never reached Venezuela, bribing officials to approve these phony claims.
Prosecutors assert they moved about $350 million out of Venezuela via U.S. banks into overseas accounts under their control. This alleged operation is thought to have taken place from around November 2011 through at least September 2015.
Pulido Vargas is facing five charges related to money laundering in the 2021 case, with a maximum penalty of 20 years for each, alongside eight additional money laundering charges from the 2019 case.
The DEA, FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations are collaboratively investigating these cases through the Homeland Security Task Force initiative.
Blanche emphasized the arrest serves as a warning to others who may face prosecution in the U.S.
