The 35 Club

Revolution to Riches
Investigation
April 8th, 2020

Since 2013, 35 Venezuelan generals have started dozens of companies, dealing in everything from toys and tourism to food and transportation. Between them, the generals have won hundreds of state contracts, lining their pockets even as most Venezuelans have plunged into desperate poverty.

Their businesses were revealed after OCCRP acquired a cache of internal army documents and cross-referenced it with a registry of companies that received contracts from the government. Additional reporting revealed that, in many cases, these companies were registered at residential addresses or appeared to have no physical offices.

This investigation exposes the lucrative benefits that accrue to senior officials in a country that devolved into rampant cronyism years ago. Analysts say these financial rewards ensured their loyalty to the regime of embattled President Nicolás Maduro as Venezuela’s political and economic situation continued to deteriorate.

The 35 generals are profiled below. OCCRP wrote to all of them seeking comment; only two responded, one briefly. The other, Angelvis Antonio Pérez Rodríguez, explained that the cooperative he held shares in had never even been fully registered, and that he was simply a soldier who did not do business of any sort.

“I am not an entrepreneur,” he wrote. “I am a soldier of the Bolivarian Revolution, the only political project that guarantees the greatest amount of happiness to the heroic people of the RBV [Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela] and collective well-being.” He added, using capital letters for emphasis, “I AM NOT A CORRUPT GENTLEMAN. I AM A SOLDIER WITH ETHICAL AND MORAL VALUES AND PRINCIPLES.”

Pablo Beltrán Pérez Villamizar
April 8th, 2020

Pablo Beltrán Pérez Villamizar

General Pablo Pérez graduated from the Military Academy of Venezuela in 1991. He has served as the director of a military think tank and of the Carlos Arvelo military hospital in Caracas.

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Jesús Emilio Vásquez Quintero
April 8th, 2020

Jesús Emilio Vásquez Quintero

General Jesús Vásquez is the attorney general of the military prosecutor’s office, which has been accused of carrying out a systematic internal crackdown against dissident members of the armed forces and of putting civilians on trial.

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Alejandro Ramón Maya Silva
April 8th, 2020

Alejandro Ramón Maya Silva

General Alejandro Maya graduated from the Military Academy of Venezuela in 1987, part of a class that would feed the upper echelons of the country’s political establishment.

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José Gregorio Viña Hernández
April 8th, 2020

José Gregorio Viña Hernández

While he was still a colonel, in 2012, General José Viña headed a battalion in northern Venezuela that has been accused of committing human rights abuses against indigenous communities.

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Jesús Rafael Morales León
April 8th, 2020

Jesús Rafael Morales León

General Jesús Morales is listed as president and owner of half of Construsum M & M, C.A., a construction company that has received contracts to build classrooms on Venezuela’s main military base, Fuerta Tiuna, in Caracas.

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Luis Santiago Rodríguez González
April 8th, 2020

Luis Santiago Rodríguez González

General Luis Rodríguez is the director of a branch of the police responsible for migration, formerly oversaw security for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and once managed the payroll for the entire Venezuelan military.

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Régulo Antonio Higuera Durante
April 8th, 2020

Régulo Antonio Higuera Durante

Based on his loyalty to the Venezuelan government, General Régulo Higuera was selected to participate in the 2007 First Joint Command and General Staff Course in Cuba.

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Heikel Fidias Gámez
April 8th, 2020

Heikel Fidias Gámez

General Heikel Gámez took part in the 1992 Venezuelan coup attempts led by Hugo Chávez and is currently the defense attaché at the the country’s embassy in Ecuador.

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Javier Tadeo Benchimol Nuñez
April 8th, 2020

Javier Tadeo Benchimol Nuñez

Since 2017, General Javier Benchimol, born in 1966, has been the commander of a defense zone in Zulia State, which is situated on the border with Colombia.

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Francisco Vicente Magdaleno Rodríguez
April 8th, 2020

Francisco Vicente Magdaleno Rodríguez

In July 2017, President Maduro personally awarded General Francisco Megdaleno Rodríguez a Venezuelan flag, making him the Armed Forces’ representative at that year’s International Military Games in Russia.

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Jesús Rafael Villamizar Gómez
April 8th, 2020

Jesús Rafael Villamizar Gómez

Born in 1971, General Jesús Villamizar’s most important post was securing President Nicolas Maduro’s safety as the head of the Special Presidential Protection and Security Brigade.

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