From now on, I shall be blogging at a new address:
http://infodio.com
The reason? I don't like agents of Chavez or his apprentices censoring perfectly valid and legitimate info on the basis of bogus copyright infringement notices (DMCA).
18 July 2013
15 July 2013
Edward Snowden Meet Franklin Chaparro; a Taste for How Journalists are Treated in Venezuela
There's a lot of talk in Venezuela these days about whether Edward Snowden is going to end up in Caracas, protected and supported by chavismo. Snowden, already famous worldwide for revealing how the US government spies on its people, said recently that Venezuela had his "gratitude and respect for being the first to stand against human rights violations carried out by the powerful rather than the powerless..."
Cesar Batiz is not a whistleblower but an award winning journalist. Venezuela is a country where the Thin Blue Line isn't the police but, rather, intrepid journalists and muckrakers in the best sense of the word. Batiz works in Ultimas Noticias (Venezuela's most-read newspaper). In 2011 Batiz published a couple of articles about a developing corruption scandal in the energy sector. Derwick Associates, a company that came out of nowhere, was granted 12 contracts in 14 months to, basically, solve Venezuela's power crisis. Derwick overbilled in the hundreds of millions of dollars and likely split the difference with their friends in the Chavez government. And how did Chavez's cronies in the private sector, and the Venezuelan government itself react to this journalist's corruption exposé?
Here's how.
Meet Franklin Chaparro (pictured). He owns a security company called Servicios de Seguridad Consolidados (SERSECO). Chaparro started out as a fireman, got into security, was at one point "commissar" of DISIP (former intelligence police force) and ended up in the private sector. His work in the security field is widely known and respected in Venezuela. He has a radio programme. He is also a leading voice within FEDECAMARAS (business group) and his success has been featured in business publications. His company is the representative for Venezuela and the Caribbean of Garrett.
Sources inside SERSECO have revealed that Chaparro, who pontificates about "the huge moral crisis" affecting Venezuela and how he "respects the dignity of people", has done work for Derwick Associates. His remit, however, is not confined to merely providing Derwick Associates execs with dozens of bodyguards. Derwick's young turks were getting paranoid about the level of detail in Batiz's journalistic reports about their crimes, and so they wanted to establish whether anyone within their organisation was leaking information to Batiz. And so, Chaparro was asked to spy on Cesar Batiz.
Chaparro, who has a history with the intelligence police, must have gotten hold of his old chums to lend a hand. When I asked Batiz about this he said that a satellite tracker was placed in his car. Men in motorcycles were commissioned to follow his every move. His work diary -where Batiz kept copious notes of his investigations, contacts, telephones, appointments, etc.- suddenly got "lost" in his own home. His email was hacked. In addition, his elderly mother got threatening phone calls from the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN). The SEBIN is the new DISIP, where Chaparro was a commander. Batiz himself was also called in, repeatedly, by SEBIN operatives, who demanded that he presented himself in their offices to be questioned about his sources.
Unlike Snowden, Batiz is not revealing secret official surveillance plans (but it's about time someone blew the whistle on how Venezuela spies on its own people). Instead, Batiz is publicising corruption in the billions of dollars, in a country with a government supposedly devoted to the poor. Batiz's rights have not been respected. His work has been sought to be discredited, not in the press as would happen in true democracies, but by a private security company working in cahoots with the country's intelligence services, while Derwick Associates used its contacts with high government officials to have the country's intelligence services act as its private security contractors. Imagine the front page coverage in America if a private security firm partnered with the FBI, without official sanction, to persecute Glenn Greenwald, hack his email, track his car, harrass his mother, and bring him in for questioning. Not for publishing the government's surveillance system, but for exposing theft and graft. That's the Venezuela that Snowden respects...
Cesar Batiz is not a whistleblower but an award winning journalist. Venezuela is a country where the Thin Blue Line isn't the police but, rather, intrepid journalists and muckrakers in the best sense of the word. Batiz works in Ultimas Noticias (Venezuela's most-read newspaper). In 2011 Batiz published a couple of articles about a developing corruption scandal in the energy sector. Derwick Associates, a company that came out of nowhere, was granted 12 contracts in 14 months to, basically, solve Venezuela's power crisis. Derwick overbilled in the hundreds of millions of dollars and likely split the difference with their friends in the Chavez government. And how did Chavez's cronies in the private sector, and the Venezuelan government itself react to this journalist's corruption exposé?
Here's how.
 |
| Franklin Chaparro |
Sources inside SERSECO have revealed that Chaparro, who pontificates about "the huge moral crisis" affecting Venezuela and how he "respects the dignity of people", has done work for Derwick Associates. His remit, however, is not confined to merely providing Derwick Associates execs with dozens of bodyguards. Derwick's young turks were getting paranoid about the level of detail in Batiz's journalistic reports about their crimes, and so they wanted to establish whether anyone within their organisation was leaking information to Batiz. And so, Chaparro was asked to spy on Cesar Batiz.
Chaparro, who has a history with the intelligence police, must have gotten hold of his old chums to lend a hand. When I asked Batiz about this he said that a satellite tracker was placed in his car. Men in motorcycles were commissioned to follow his every move. His work diary -where Batiz kept copious notes of his investigations, contacts, telephones, appointments, etc.- suddenly got "lost" in his own home. His email was hacked. In addition, his elderly mother got threatening phone calls from the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN). The SEBIN is the new DISIP, where Chaparro was a commander. Batiz himself was also called in, repeatedly, by SEBIN operatives, who demanded that he presented himself in their offices to be questioned about his sources.
Unlike Snowden, Batiz is not revealing secret official surveillance plans (but it's about time someone blew the whistle on how Venezuela spies on its own people). Instead, Batiz is publicising corruption in the billions of dollars, in a country with a government supposedly devoted to the poor. Batiz's rights have not been respected. His work has been sought to be discredited, not in the press as would happen in true democracies, but by a private security company working in cahoots with the country's intelligence services, while Derwick Associates used its contacts with high government officials to have the country's intelligence services act as its private security contractors. Imagine the front page coverage in America if a private security firm partnered with the FBI, without official sanction, to persecute Glenn Greenwald, hack his email, track his car, harrass his mother, and bring him in for questioning. Not for publishing the government's surveillance system, but for exposing theft and graft. That's the Venezuela that Snowden respects...
7 July 2013
What's the story about Roberto Pannunzi's Venezuelan ID?
 |
| Roberto Pannunzi (photo AP) |
@InformadorVeraz weighs in, asking whether Colombia's Ministry of Defence is claiming that people with fake IDs can register to vote in Venezuela's electoral roll:
Señores @mindefensa ¿estan diciendo que la gente puede registrar cedulas chimbas en el rep en Venezuela? http://t.co/iMNH8RpExx
— InformadorVeraz (@InformadorVeraz) July 7, 2013
4 July 2013
Open letter to Edward Snowden
Dear Edward,
it must be hard for you, to realise that beyond the chorus of celebrations from radical fringes of the political spectrum for what you've done, real-politik always trumps naive behaviour.
You probably don't not know this, but I happen to have come across some of the actors involved in your current existencial dilemma. In 2008, I was working as VP Operations for the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), an NGO founded by a Venezuelan, like myself. One of the first things I did at the time was to travel to Ecuador, twice, to El Inca prison. You must be thinking why on earth I did that, and I'll tell you: I went to visit Orellana Governor Guadalupe Llori, a remarkable indigenous woman, leader of a left-leaning political movement, and former supporter of Rafael Correa. Guadalupe was democratically elected, just like Correa. She had a mandate from her constituents, just like Correa. But once he got to power, and started doing the very same things he had been criticising previous governments about, such as sending the army to crush dissent, Guadalupe rebelled. And she did because the province in which she was elected Governor (Orellana) was at the centre of oil workers protests about appalling working conditions, lack of infrastructure, contamination, etc. After Correa's decision to send in the army, Guadalupe referred to him in a local TV station as a brute.
"Fair comment" you may think. But Correa, a man who comes from a dysfunctional family and has a huge chip on his shoulder, decided to accuse Guadalupe of being a "terrorist" and had her thrown in jail, for almost 10 months. In that jail I visited her, twice. I still have at home two dolls that she made while there and gave me for my children. I was the only representative of a human rights NGO, whether local or international, to have visited her in jail to raise awareness about the injustice of her case. Thanks to HRF's campaign Guadalupe was freed and cleared of all charges for lack of evidence. But she was forcibly removed from her democratically-elected office on trumped charges. This was only one of two women in the entire American continent at the time -the other being Sarah Palin- to hold such office. The episode, as you may imagine, was a huge embarrassment for Correa and his regime.
Then I was asked to help organize the first ever Oslo Freedom Forum, a human rights conference produced by the HRF. I was there, in its first year, 2009. In 2010, while I was no longer employed by HRF, I did follow the proceedings, and heard Guadalupe give thanks for what we did to help her out. Curiously, that year, your handler Julian Assange, was one of the speakers invited to the Oslo Freedom Forum. This was before he had those issues in Sweden, and the Manning leaks. So let me tell you that Assange must have read, at the very least, about Guadalupe and what Correa had done to her in the conference prospectus. I guess you can imagine my surprise when I learned that Julian was hiding in Ecuador's Embassy in London.
Julian, I have been able to determine, is far from being this admirable advocate for transparency, rule of law, democracy, and freedom. His actions, since his decision of seeking asylum from Correa, speak volumes about his true nature. When I first heard about you I thought "wow, good thing that this guy alerted about that so a proper debate on the subject can be had." But then, like Julian before you, you showed up in Hong Kong, from there you flew to Russia, from where you said you wanted to go elsewhere, to Ecuador, which I've already talked about, Cuba, where I've also been visiting those prosecuted by the communist Castro dictators, and Venezuela, my country. Now let me tell you this Edward, none of your current handlers knows a tenth of what goes on in my country. That includes Julian. He may have, for expediency and survival reasons, entered into some sort of marriage of convenience with Rafael Correa's regime. While I am no expert in Ecuador I most certainly am in Venezuela.
In Venezuela, a journalist investigating a company that got power contracts from the State illegally gets visit from intelligence and security forces; his mother gets menacing calls; his car and house get bugged and he suffers all kinds of harassment. I'm not even talking about secrets of State Edward, like those you're revealing. No. A journalist simply doing his job and trying to keep those who grant public contracts honest. A judge, also doing her job and following the letter of the law to the t, gets sent to prison on the whims of the president. Ditto police officers. Let's say, for argument sake, that you are Venezuelan, or Ecuadorian, or Cuban, and you want to leak the stuff you got to the media in Venezuela, or Ecuador, or Cuba. You should first identify to which media, right? To maximise exposure? Well, let me tell you this, there is not one single media outlet of national reach in those countries that would, today, publish State secrets likes the one you have. Not one. If you happen to have stuff that exposes the opposition, or private companies, then yes, there are many places you could go. In fact, until very recently, there was this guy in Venezuela called Mario Silva, he had a prime time program in one of the State channels in which playing out illegally obtained phone recordings were daily occurrences. No one is prosecuted for that, in fact it is pretty much encouraged by the highest authorities. There's nowhere to got get redress for the courts are but an appendix of the regime. You are disgusted by what the government of your country does to spy your countrymen, what on earth do you think happens in Venezuela? Or in Cuba? Or in Russia? Or in China? Do you honestly think personal freedoms are more respected in my country? Do you honestly think you stand a better chance in a court of law in my country?
You are meant to be a former intelligence analist so you must be aware of these things. If you aren't, then the US intelligence apparatus is at an unsurmountable loss. You must have heard, learned or come across about such activities. It's common knowledge. It's been all over the media, aligned or not. From where do you think Cuba picked up its spying program? From PRISM? Or do I need to tell you about the Stasi? A Russian whistleblower was poisoned in a cafe in London not long ago, did you hear about him? That was Alexander Litvinenko. Did you hear about the guy who exposed tax corruption? That was Sergei Magnitsky. How about Cuba, have you heard something, anything in fact, about what happens to people locked in prisons located on the other side of the fence in Guantanamo?
I guess what I'm trying to get at Edward, from someone that has done some very minor leaking, is this: if you are moral enough to recognise when your government is doing wrong, and act upon it, be moral enough to recognise that your current partners/advisors are anything but an example to follow. If you are running away from a country where the government spies on its people, the last place you'd want to go should be Ecuador, or China, or Russia, or Cuba, or Venezuela. I mean, c'mon! Your public stance on this particular issue has the credibility of a campaigner for personal freedoms called Joseph Fritzl.
So I guess the best piece of advice I could give you is drop immediately Julian and his counsel. As the Times wrote yesterday, a man holed up in a cupboard for over a year in the Ecuadorian Embassy is hardly a legitimate advisor on how to avoid being trapped.
As per your alleged intentions of going to my country, or to Ecuador or Cuba, let me warn you: the moment you become a nuisance, or your presence is no longer politically expedient, the rulers of those countries won't hesitate for a second to dispose of you. There will be no media taking up your case, no human rights NGO exerting pressure for those regime allege sovereignty to wipe their arses with all international conventions. The jails in those countries are far, far worse from what your mind can even begin to picture. Once in one of those, you won't be able to claim anything about human rights, due process, etc., and your life will be absolutely worthless. You may think, after what happened to Manning, that going back to your country is out of the question. If you allow me to be crude in the extreme, I'd say Manning is alive, he didn't die, he wasn't killed. In all those other countries you may well become the next Sergei Magnitsky, or the next Franklin Brito.
Best,
Alek
it must be hard for you, to realise that beyond the chorus of celebrations from radical fringes of the political spectrum for what you've done, real-politik always trumps naive behaviour.
You probably don't not know this, but I happen to have come across some of the actors involved in your current existencial dilemma. In 2008, I was working as VP Operations for the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), an NGO founded by a Venezuelan, like myself. One of the first things I did at the time was to travel to Ecuador, twice, to El Inca prison. You must be thinking why on earth I did that, and I'll tell you: I went to visit Orellana Governor Guadalupe Llori, a remarkable indigenous woman, leader of a left-leaning political movement, and former supporter of Rafael Correa. Guadalupe was democratically elected, just like Correa. She had a mandate from her constituents, just like Correa. But once he got to power, and started doing the very same things he had been criticising previous governments about, such as sending the army to crush dissent, Guadalupe rebelled. And she did because the province in which she was elected Governor (Orellana) was at the centre of oil workers protests about appalling working conditions, lack of infrastructure, contamination, etc. After Correa's decision to send in the army, Guadalupe referred to him in a local TV station as a brute.
"Fair comment" you may think. But Correa, a man who comes from a dysfunctional family and has a huge chip on his shoulder, decided to accuse Guadalupe of being a "terrorist" and had her thrown in jail, for almost 10 months. In that jail I visited her, twice. I still have at home two dolls that she made while there and gave me for my children. I was the only representative of a human rights NGO, whether local or international, to have visited her in jail to raise awareness about the injustice of her case. Thanks to HRF's campaign Guadalupe was freed and cleared of all charges for lack of evidence. But she was forcibly removed from her democratically-elected office on trumped charges. This was only one of two women in the entire American continent at the time -the other being Sarah Palin- to hold such office. The episode, as you may imagine, was a huge embarrassment for Correa and his regime.
Then I was asked to help organize the first ever Oslo Freedom Forum, a human rights conference produced by the HRF. I was there, in its first year, 2009. In 2010, while I was no longer employed by HRF, I did follow the proceedings, and heard Guadalupe give thanks for what we did to help her out. Curiously, that year, your handler Julian Assange, was one of the speakers invited to the Oslo Freedom Forum. This was before he had those issues in Sweden, and the Manning leaks. So let me tell you that Assange must have read, at the very least, about Guadalupe and what Correa had done to her in the conference prospectus. I guess you can imagine my surprise when I learned that Julian was hiding in Ecuador's Embassy in London.
Julian, I have been able to determine, is far from being this admirable advocate for transparency, rule of law, democracy, and freedom. His actions, since his decision of seeking asylum from Correa, speak volumes about his true nature. When I first heard about you I thought "wow, good thing that this guy alerted about that so a proper debate on the subject can be had." But then, like Julian before you, you showed up in Hong Kong, from there you flew to Russia, from where you said you wanted to go elsewhere, to Ecuador, which I've already talked about, Cuba, where I've also been visiting those prosecuted by the communist Castro dictators, and Venezuela, my country. Now let me tell you this Edward, none of your current handlers knows a tenth of what goes on in my country. That includes Julian. He may have, for expediency and survival reasons, entered into some sort of marriage of convenience with Rafael Correa's regime. While I am no expert in Ecuador I most certainly am in Venezuela.
In Venezuela, a journalist investigating a company that got power contracts from the State illegally gets visit from intelligence and security forces; his mother gets menacing calls; his car and house get bugged and he suffers all kinds of harassment. I'm not even talking about secrets of State Edward, like those you're revealing. No. A journalist simply doing his job and trying to keep those who grant public contracts honest. A judge, also doing her job and following the letter of the law to the t, gets sent to prison on the whims of the president. Ditto police officers. Let's say, for argument sake, that you are Venezuelan, or Ecuadorian, or Cuban, and you want to leak the stuff you got to the media in Venezuela, or Ecuador, or Cuba. You should first identify to which media, right? To maximise exposure? Well, let me tell you this, there is not one single media outlet of national reach in those countries that would, today, publish State secrets likes the one you have. Not one. If you happen to have stuff that exposes the opposition, or private companies, then yes, there are many places you could go. In fact, until very recently, there was this guy in Venezuela called Mario Silva, he had a prime time program in one of the State channels in which playing out illegally obtained phone recordings were daily occurrences. No one is prosecuted for that, in fact it is pretty much encouraged by the highest authorities. There's nowhere to got get redress for the courts are but an appendix of the regime. You are disgusted by what the government of your country does to spy your countrymen, what on earth do you think happens in Venezuela? Or in Cuba? Or in Russia? Or in China? Do you honestly think personal freedoms are more respected in my country? Do you honestly think you stand a better chance in a court of law in my country?
You are meant to be a former intelligence analist so you must be aware of these things. If you aren't, then the US intelligence apparatus is at an unsurmountable loss. You must have heard, learned or come across about such activities. It's common knowledge. It's been all over the media, aligned or not. From where do you think Cuba picked up its spying program? From PRISM? Or do I need to tell you about the Stasi? A Russian whistleblower was poisoned in a cafe in London not long ago, did you hear about him? That was Alexander Litvinenko. Did you hear about the guy who exposed tax corruption? That was Sergei Magnitsky. How about Cuba, have you heard something, anything in fact, about what happens to people locked in prisons located on the other side of the fence in Guantanamo?
I guess what I'm trying to get at Edward, from someone that has done some very minor leaking, is this: if you are moral enough to recognise when your government is doing wrong, and act upon it, be moral enough to recognise that your current partners/advisors are anything but an example to follow. If you are running away from a country where the government spies on its people, the last place you'd want to go should be Ecuador, or China, or Russia, or Cuba, or Venezuela. I mean, c'mon! Your public stance on this particular issue has the credibility of a campaigner for personal freedoms called Joseph Fritzl.
So I guess the best piece of advice I could give you is drop immediately Julian and his counsel. As the Times wrote yesterday, a man holed up in a cupboard for over a year in the Ecuadorian Embassy is hardly a legitimate advisor on how to avoid being trapped.
As per your alleged intentions of going to my country, or to Ecuador or Cuba, let me warn you: the moment you become a nuisance, or your presence is no longer politically expedient, the rulers of those countries won't hesitate for a second to dispose of you. There will be no media taking up your case, no human rights NGO exerting pressure for those regime allege sovereignty to wipe their arses with all international conventions. The jails in those countries are far, far worse from what your mind can even begin to picture. Once in one of those, you won't be able to claim anything about human rights, due process, etc., and your life will be absolutely worthless. You may think, after what happened to Manning, that going back to your country is out of the question. If you allow me to be crude in the extreme, I'd say Manning is alive, he didn't die, he wasn't killed. In all those other countries you may well become the next Sergei Magnitsky, or the next Franklin Brito.
Best,
Alek
El canal chino de Nicaragua: una gigantesca estafa
Me permito publicar aqui artículo aparecido en Semana sobre el canal interoceánico que la empresa de maletín china HKND supuestamente va a construir en Nicaragua.
El canal chino de Nicaragua: una gigantesca estafa
Por Fanny Kertzman y Alek Boyd
MUNDOEn el proyecto podrían robarse las reservas internacionales del empobrecido país.
.
Foto: SEMANA
A los nicaragüenses no les sonó desconocido el nombre de Wang Jing cuando, el pasado 14 de junio, el Presidente Daniel Ortega anunció su denominación como el socio con quien Nicaragua iba a construir el sueño del Gran Canal Interoceánico.
Ya en noviembre de 2012 el gobierno nicaragüense le había adjudicado a la empresa china Xinwei Telecom Enterprise Group (Ver sitio) la tercera licencia de telefonía celular. Wang Jing es el "chairman" de dicha compañía. A pesar de que se presentaron siete compañías a la licitación, esta supuestamente se amañó para que ganara Xinwei, al estipular que el oferente debería tener experiencia en bandas 3G y 4G con el estándar ITU-RM 1801-1 que, curiosamente, solo se utiliza en China y el suroeste asiático.
Rápidamente corrieron los rumores sobre la manipulación de los términos de la licitación y los vínculos entre Wang Jing y Laureano Ortega, hijo del Presidente y a quien se asocia con la agencia de inversión ProNicaragua. Se rumora que el precio de la concesión se bajó de 90 millones de dólares a 20 millones. Xinwei prometió invertir 700 millones de dólares en la primera etapa del proyecto y 2.000 millones en 2015. Se planeaba proveer servicios de voz, datos, video, trunking y acceso a internet. Hasta la fecha no se ha tendido un solo cable. En la supuesta sede de la compañía en Managua hay solo cuatro empleados nicaragüenses que tienen prohibido dar cualquier información.
En su website Xinwei anuncia que son los proveedores número uno del mundo de 4G con su tecnología McWill. Supuestamente son proveedores de servicios en 20 países. Pero cuando se visita el sitio web de McWill (www.mcwill.net) para saber en qué consiste la tecnología que conquistó al mundo en 4G, los vínculos no funcionan. Es una fachada solamente. En realidad, analizando la página web de Xinwei es imposible saber a ciencia cierta qué es lo que hacen.
Dado el éxito de la concesión de comunicaciones, el "empresario" Wang Jing y Daniel Ortega decidieron unirse para construir el Gran Canal Interoceánico de Nicaragua, en el cual se invertirán 40.000 millones de dólares. Wang Jing montó la empresa HKND Group (Ver sitio) en noviembre pasado y firmó un contrato con Ortega donde, en forma increíble, el Banco Central de Nicaragua renuncia a la inmunidad soberana (Ver Anexo 6 del acuerdo) a favor de Wang Jing.
El día anterior al anuncio, la Asamblea nicaragüense aprobó una Ley que viabilizaba el controvertido
contrato, otorgado a dedo y sin ningún tipo de licitación. El Acuerdo tiene más de cien páginas donde estipula, entre otros, que"..en consideración de los beneficios mutuos que se derivan del ... Gran Canal Interoceánico de Nicaragua....el Banco Central de Nicaragua (el "Banco Central") acepta irrevocable e incondicionalmente...renunciar a cualquier derecho de inmunidad soberana que pudiese tener, y se compromete a no invocar la inmunidad en ningún procedimiento". "El Banco Central de manera irrevocable e incondicional....renuncia [a] cualquier derecho de inmunidad soberana......con relación al reconocimiento, exigibilidad o ejecución de cualquier sentencia....incluyendo... la renuncia...respecto a gravamen o ejecución contra cualquiera de sus bienes... (Incluyendo cualquiera de sus cuentas bancarias, ya sea a nombre propio o no) y donde sea que estuviere ubicada".
Esto quiere decir, nada más y nada menos, que el Banco Central de Nicaragua renuncia a la soberanía sobre las reservas internacionales y se las puede entregar a Wang Jing y sus asociados, quienes fuera que sean. Para desgracia de los beneficiarios, estas ascienden a sólo 1.885 millones de dólares. Como referencia, las reservas internacionales de Colombia son del orden de los 40.000 millones dólares, el costo total propuesto del proyecto del Canal.
El "Patrocinador", como se le llama a Wang Jing en el contrato, es liberado de toda responsabilidad contractual, impuestos, derechos de importación e IVA para sus compras dentro y fuera de Nicaragua. No existen impuestos tampoco para los empleados y la ley laboral no aplica.
Pero como para construir el canal y todas las obras adicionales que se anuncian -canal seco, un oleoducto, un aeropuerto, un puerto en el Caribe, un puerto en el Pacífico, una zona de libre comercio en el Atlántico y otra en el Pacífico- se deben comprar tierras y propiedades, el acuerdo le otorga al Patrocinador "el derecho irrestricto de usar la tierra, aire y espacio marítimo...donde se desarrollarán los trabajos de construcción...derechos irrestrictos para...extraer, almacenar y usar el agua y todos los otros recursos naturales ... y.... entregarle al Patrocinador títulos libres de gravamen de todas las propiedades... sin contraprestación alguna a cambio". De manera que no solo se entregan las magras reservas internacionales, sino que el señor Jing y sus asociados pueden expropiar cualquier propiedad o terreno en Nicaragua, sea de un particular o del Estado.
Lo que Colombia percibió como un acto de agresión, la construcción del canal interoceánico que desembocaría en aguas territoriales colombianos, que era parte del complot del fallo de La Haya, no es más que una gran estafa ideada probablemente por los círculos más altos del gobierno, "socio" en este proyecto, para robarse los pocos recursos que le quedan a Nicaragua, el país más pobre de Centro América.
Wang Jing también se había comprometido con otros proyectos, como la construcción y lanzamiento del satélite Nicasat-1, que costará 300 millones de dólares y cuya construcción debería haber empezado para marzo de este año. Tampoco se ha visto actividad en ese frente. No se sabe si se ha pagado suma alguna.
A pesar de que se ha dicho que Wang es una fachada del gobierno chino, lo cierto es que Nicaragua tiene relaciones diplomáticas con Taiwan y no con China continental.
La empresa promotora del Canal HKND (Ver sitio) fue creada en Islas Cayman el 7 de noviembre de 2012. El sitio web dice que tiene amplia experiencia en construcción. Según dice la escritura es una unidad de HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co., Ltd. de Hong Kong, compañía que a su vez registra un capital de 1200 dólares. Wang Jing es el único miembro de junta y la secretaría la ejerce una firma de abogados. La dirección de contacto es el hotel Four Seasons de Hong Kong.
Se supone que los estudios de factibilidad los hará McKinsey y figura Stefan Matzinger como consultor. Li Chuan es el abogado vinculado a la firma Kirkland & Ellis International LLP en Shangai que presta los servicios legales y Ronald MacLean-Abaroa, un ex diplomático boliviano, encabeza las relaciones públicas. Este ha manifestado públicamente que no sabe quiénes son los socios del señor Wang Jing en el proyecto. O tal vez lo sabe y no lo puede decir.
3 July 2013
Who is Wang Jing? Man behind Nicaragua's canal project is as dodgy as they come.
 |
| Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega (left) and Wang Jing. |
Reuters reports that Wang Jing's Cayman Islands' HKND "is a unit of HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co., Ltd.", so I went to Hong Kong register to find out more about HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co., Ltd (HKND). As it turns, the Hong Kong-registered "investment company" is a 10,000 Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) vehicle, whose registered office is Suites 1801-1807, 2 International Finance Centre, Hong Kong. Wang Jing is the sole director and Conson Secretarial Ltd was appointed as secretary.
Having failed to find a directory of companies at 2 International Finance Centre, I called the concierge and was told that due to "privacy issues" no information about their tenants can be given. The concierge refused to confirm whether HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co., Ltd. had offices in that building. When I asked whether it was a secret which companies had rented offices at 2 International Finance Centre, the lady told me that if I wanted to know, I had to go there in person and check in the buildings' board. So much for transparency...
But who is this Wang Jing? What is his track record in the infrastructure and engineering field?
Wang Jing is meant to be the boss of Xinwei, a telecoms company formerly owned by State-owned Datang Telecom. Hong Kong records show that he resides at no. 3001, unit 1, Building no. 3, FANGQUNYUAN YI QU, in Beijing's Fengtai District. He says he lives with his mother. As per archive.org records, Jing's first reference as chairman of Xinwei appears in Xinwei's website in March 2010. By that time Xinwei had been taken to private hands, although a few photo ops with leaders of China's Communist Party visiting pepper Xinwei's website. Xinwei appears to have patented a system called McWill, which it claims to be "the only commercialized 4G technology in the world." Xinwei claims that said technology is used in more than 20 countries. Mcwill's site was registered by Gang Huang from Beijing Holland, a Chinese purveyor to the "cable & wire industry as well as electrical equipment industry." Certainly, the "world's leader in 4G technology" website leaves a lot to be desired.
Jing, who refused to say what university he had attended, claims to have made his money mining in Cambodia. As far as our research goes, there's no evidence of such activities. Anywhere. Jing has said that international investors will come up with required funds ($40 billion), but has failed to name a single investor. Feasibility studies are meant to be conducted by McKinsey & Co, while other individuals, such as Li Chuan of Kirkland & Ellis International LLP, Bill Wild, and Ronald MacLean-Abaroa were part of Jing's entourage in Nicaragua.
While Jing claims that China's Railway Construction will also participate in conducting feasibility work, there's no official evidence to that. Anywhere. Furthermore, reports in Chinese media warn that the project is fraught with risks, and most likely unviable, given its geopolitical significance. The argument, in short, goes that the US government is not about to allow China to build and control an interoceanic canal in Nicaragua.
The most shocking aspect of this issue is not even Jing's lack of credentials, track record and funds. But rather the way in which Daniel Ortega, the utterly corrupt and pedophile President of Nicaragua has renounced his country's sovereignty in this deal (see annexes in agreement below). The plans include, in addition, construction of the following:
- An oil pipe;
- An airport;
- Related infrastructure;
- A port in the Caribbean;
- A port in the Pacific;
- A free trade zone in the Caribbean coast;
- A free trade zone in the Pacific coast;
- A dry canal;
- A wet canal.
ACUERDO MARCO DE CONCESION E IMPLEMENTACIÓN con relación a
EL CANAL DE NICARAGUA Y PROYECTOS DE DESARROLLO by alek_boyd
1 July 2013
Locking Horn[e]s with Rafael Correa and his idiotic agents
UPDATE*: "Rafael Correa not considering Snowden asylum: helping him was a 'mistake'" Imagine my surprise yesterday when I got an email, with the subject "investigating the SENAIN" from Bethany Horne. "Right" I thought, "let the farce begin." Horne works for Ecuador's El Telegrafo, a State owned propaganda outlet. I must admit that the woman has some cheek, but decided to engage anyway. Below our exchange in full.
From: Bethany Horne <bethanybhorne@gmail.com>
Subject: investigating the SENAIN
Date: 30 June 2013 22:24:00 BST
To: alek.boyd@gmail.com
Hi Alek,
I'm putting together a master file of the leaked documents this week about the SENAIN programs in Ecuador and other surveillance activity. I was wondering if you have any documents you did not post to your blog but which are related to this investigation? It's been somewhat complicated getting some since Scribd and Dropbox took down some of Rosie Gray's, so I just want to make sure I didn't miss any: are you willing to send me what you have?
Let me know, thanks,
Bethany Horne
(593) 99 3222810
From: Alek Boyd <alek.boyd@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: investigating the SENAIN
Date: 1 July 2013 05:53:16 BST
To: Bethany Horne <bethanybhorne@gmail.com>
Hi Bethany,
Thanks for your message.
May I ask who are you, what media outlet you work for or where do you normally publish, and what are you planning to do with the SENAIN files?
Regards,
--
Alek Boyd
From: "Bethany Horne" <groundhog593@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: investigating the SENAIN
Date: 1 July 2013 07:52:14 BST
To: "Alek Boyd" <alek.boyd@gmail.com>
I'm a Canadian freelance reporter, I'm working on a piece for the International Business Times...I won't be re-publishing the documents in that piece, I just want to read them.
From: Alek Boyd <alek.boyd@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: investigating the SENAIN
Date: 1 July 2013 08:24:52 BST
To: Bethany Horne <groundhog593@gmail.com>
Hi Bethany,
why wouldn't you republish the documents? Are they not interesting enough for International Business Times' readers?
You can access them through my piece for Colombia's Semana:
Let me know if you have problems with the language.
Best,
Alek
From: "Bethany Horne" <groundhog593@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: investigating the SENAIN
Date: 1 July 2013 08:29:51 BST
To: "Alek Boyd" <alek.boyd@gmail.com>
Because my story isn't about the documents, I do want to read them as background though. I wouldn't re-attach them as they're not mine, they're yours, but I would link to you for reference.
I'm fluent in Spanish, I was hoping you could send them as attachments. I actually don't see any PDFs or raw documents in that Semana article you sent.
From: Alek Boyd <alek.boyd@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: investigating the SENAIN
Date: 1 July 2013 08:40:12 BST
To: "Bethany Horne" <groundhog593@gmail.com>
HI Bethany,
What's the story about? What interest have you got in Ecuador? And how come you're fluent in Spanish if you're Canadian?
The first batch of docs is linked in the Semana article I sent you. But if you couldn't see them, here's the link:
Best,
Alek
From: Bethany Horne <groundhog593@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: investigating the SENAIN
Date: 1 July 2013 08:43:42 BST
To: Alek Boyd <alek.boyd@gmail.com>
I grew up in part in Ecuador because my parents were missionaries. The story is about Ecuador surveillance and security in general, in the context of inviting the world's most wanted man to live within these borders.
Thanks for the link
From: Alek Boyd <alek.boyd@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: investigating the SENAIN
Date: 1 July 2013 08:48:43 BST
To: Bethany Horne <groundhog593@gmail.com>
Hi Bethany,
How do you mean by "inviting the world's most wanted man to live within these borders"?
Are you referring to Julian Assange or to Edward Snowden? If it is Snowden, did Correa did not distance himself from the whole affair after it was revealed that the salvoconducto issued in London turned up to be unauthorised?
Best,
Alek
---End of exchange---
What do they say about giving enough rope? For it is worth bearing in mind that Horne is basically a paid hack of Rafael Correa, perhaps an Eva Golinger in the works? When I wrote "May I ask who are you, what media outlet you work for or where do you normally publish" her reply was as dishonest as the regime she works for: "I'm a Canadian freelance reporter, I'm working on a piece for the International Business Times..." And, again, it's worth mentioning, this woman was all over Twitter questioning the journalistic integrity of Rosie Gray. Horne says her parents were missionaries In Ecuador, evidently the zeal got passed on. But what to make of her research skills, something which she also mocked Rosie Gray about? How come she couldn't find the batch of documents I published, when in fact she had attacked Buzzfeed for claiming an exclusive of stuff I had published first?
After I posted the leaks about Ecuador surveillance purchases and how it's intelligence agency monitors critics and journalists, some idiot tried one of the oldest tricks in the hacking book: 4 emails from "Gmail", sent from accounts-noreply <accounts-noreply@team.com>, with a link to http://registro-des.hol.es to "reset" my password.
Irrelevant Max Blumenthal (Government of Norway's and Amnesty International's dictum) came with another desperate attempt to take Correa's surveillance program to obscurantism, by producing another idiotic conspiracy theory entitled "Dark Forces Behind the Snowden Smears". Blumenthal is not someone recognised for his journalistic integrity, perhaps that's the reason why he didn't include in his latest crackpot conspiracy the fact that Edward Snowden started smearing himself a long time ago.
But the funniest part of this pathetic Ecuadorian drama, is that Correa ordered his minions to give a press conference where the existence of surveillance equipment is admitted while leaked information about it is claimed to be fake; a 24-hour ultimatum was given to "demonstrate" that his regime taps phones; Correa himself came on Twitter to declare that the 24-hour period had finished, and therefore as no proof had been presented its was "demonstrated" that it was all a lie; in the meanwhile a one-man-band sort of company operating out of Barcelona that sends spurious copyright infringement notices to critics of Rafael Correa got leaked documents published by Buzzfeed yanked from Scribd (wasn't the official line that docs were fake? How can anyone claim copyright infringement over fake documents?). Mind you what an excellent demonstration of Correa's idiocy and that of his agents.
UPDATE: not even a day has passed, and Rafael Correa admits to The Guardian's Rory Carroll that helping Snowden was a mistake, as I said to Bethany Horne "salvoconducto issued in London turned up to be unauthorised". Correa and his minions are definitely the gift that keeps on giving.
UPDATE: not even a day has passed, and Rafael Correa admits to The Guardian's Rory Carroll that helping Snowden was a mistake, as I said to Bethany Horne "salvoconducto issued in London turned up to be unauthorised". Correa and his minions are definitely the gift that keeps on giving.
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