U.S. officials are investigating the suspected looting of European and Latin American artwork they believe is being plundered by Venezuelan government insiders as Nicolas Maduro struggles to maintain his grip on power.
In this Sept. 17, 2019, photo, Carlos Vecchio, an exiled politician who the U.S. recognizes as Venezuela’s ambassador, points to a blank section of a wall where artwork once hung inside the Ambassador's residence in Washington. U.S. officials are investigating the possible looting from Venezuela of valuable European and Latin American artwork they believe is being quietly plundered by government insiders as Nicolas Maduro struggles to keep a grip on power.
“This is likely just the tip of the iceberg,” said Carlos Vecchio, an exiled politician who the U.S. recognizes as Venezuela’s ambassador. He pointed to a large empty wooden frame still hanging above the fireplace in the residence’s den where he believes one of the missing canvasses was ripped from the wall. “If this is what they’ve managed to do with some artwork at a single diplomatic mission, you can imagine what they’ve done inside Venezuela.
Spearheading the artistic sleuthing is Marshall Billingslea, the assistant U.S. Treasury secretary for terrorist financing who has led the Trump administration’s charge to sanction senior Venezuelan officials and prevent Maduro from raiding the nation’s sizable oil assets abroad. In the case of Venezuela, crippling U.S. financial sanctions are making it similarly hard for Maduro’s government and well-connected insiders to access Western financial institutions. The oblique and unregulated art market is considered an ideal way to stash illegal proceeds from corruption that the opposition-controlled congress estimates reached a staggering $400 billion in recent years under socialist rule.
“We don’t know for sure that the artwork was stolen, but the official silence and censoring of information does make us wonder,” Cardenas said.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Go Inside Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Fashion Show to See Halsey, Migos, DJ Khaled, Big Sean & A$AP Ferg Performances: ExclusiveRihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show is hitting Amazon Prime Video on Friday (Sept. 20), and ahead of the big reveal, Amazon released a preview of the performances from Halsey, DJ Khaled, Migos, Big Sean, A$AP Ferg
Read more »
Only on AP: Vape maker overhauls packaging to counter fakesA short walk from police headquarters in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, a cluster of bustling shops are openly selling packaging and hardware that can be used to produce counterfeit marijuana vapes that have infected California&39;s cannabis market. Bootleggers eager to profit off unsuspecting
Read more »
Trump Names Hostage Negotiator Who Monitored A$AP Rocky Case as National Security AdviserThe State Department official will become the fourth person to fill that position since 2017 a week after the president, who announced the appointment via Twitter, ousted John Bolton, citing policy disagreements.
Read more »
Trump Picks A$AP Rocky Hostage Negotiator as National Security AdviserDonald Trump announced that he is picking Robert C. O’Brien, the Department of State’s top hostage negotiator, to replace the ousted John Bolton as national security adviser
Read more »
Trump's new national security adviser is the hostage negotiator he sent to Sweden for A$AP Rocky's trialRobert O'Brien made headlines over the summer after Trump sent him to Sweden amid rapper A$AP Rocky's trial for assault charges.
Read more »
Meredith Stuns on Grey's Anatomy's Season 16 PosterExclusive: Check out the beautiful new key art for the new season of the ABC hit
Read more »