Venezuelan Leader Opens Investigations Into Alleged Embezzlement of Funds Intended for Military Deserters

Venezuelan Leader Opens Investigations Into Alleged Embezzlement of Funds Intended for Military Deserters
Venezuelan interim president Juan Guaidó, during a rally as part of Operacion Libertad in Guatire, Venezuela on May 18, 2019. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images
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BOGOTA, Colombia—Venezuelan interim president Juan Guaidó’s ambassador to Colombia formally requested that Colombia open investigations into the alleged misappropriation of funds by members of his own coalition.

The June 18 request by Ambassador Humberto Calderon Bertí follows a report in Miami’s PanAm Post on June 14 that Colombian intelligence services discovered that two officials personally appointed by Guaidó have been using funds that are intended to feed and house individuals fleeing Venezuela’s military on designer clothes and lavish nights out in nightclubs, restaurants, and hotels.