Ex-Venezuela mayor surrenders in Miami for oil bribe scheme
Associated PressMIAMI — A one-time ally of Hugo Chávez wanted for prosecution by his socialist successor Nicolás Maduro has quietly surrendered in Miami in connection to a major bribery scheme involving joint oil ventures with foreign partners. Jhonnathan Marín was serving as mayor of the port city of Guanta in 2017 when he abruptly resigned and fled the country amid a major purge at state run oil giant PDVSA. According to a criminal complaint, which has not been previously reported, Marín helped pay bribes on behalf of an unnamed co-conspirator who was awarded tens of millions of dollars in contracts from state run oil giant PDVSA’s joint ventures with Chevron, France’s Total and firms from Russia and China. Marín, 43, was an early adherent to Chávez’s Fifth Republic Movement and in 2008 was elected mayor of Guanta, a city at the gateway to the Orinoco Oil Belt, home to the world’s largest oil reserves and about half of Venezuela’s current production.
History of this topic
Top Venezuela oil official pleads guilty to taking bribes
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Ex-Venezuela mayor pleads guilty for $3.8 million in bribes
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US prosecutor in Miami targeting Venezuela graft is leaving
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