122,000 tons lost

They found packages of caraotas with the seal of “socialist Venezuela”, in a garbage dump of Falcon (Courtesy Yunior Lugo)

Half of the Venezuelans could at least have eaten during a month with the foods that have appeared damaged in the last weeks. Without telling to the coats of caraotas or product packages like mayonnaise, that found in the garbage dump of Tiguadare, state Falcon, the denunciations of the last weeks add almost 122,000 tons of foods that were lost before arriving at the refrigerators and pantries from the country.

“All that could have been the monthly market of more than 3 million Venezuelan families”, calculates ex- deputy Carlos Berrizbeitia. If each container has capacity for 28 thousand kilos and, in average, an individual consumes 7 to the month, the account of the leader of Venezuela Project indicates that - to long it of 30 days 17 million people could have fed with the containers and bulks on products, that have found stowed in different points from the states Carabobo, Cojedes, Yaracuy and Zulia.

One is a situation that escaped of the hands of the Government; it is at least what declared the president of Pdval, Virginia Seas. “We were wrapped of containers because they arrived at the same time”, it indicated 9 of June the past. “We concerned 761,000 tons of foods, that they even had to arrive at other ports while the one of Port was drained Hair”.

A long time ago the tails of the marine customs stopped being secret, but is still less certain that Pdval mattered over its capacity: the Chamber of Commerce of Port Hair warned eight months ago on an excess in the imports of the Government.

“It is disquieting the fact that it is being bought much more than really we can distribute”, it indicated the president of the camera, Rivas Saints, in an official notice of the past 28 of September. “In spite of the concerted efforts of the personnel of logistic of Corporation Casa and Pdval, they cannot achieve the distribution objectives that clear the primary zones they use if them like warehouses”, it added.

Rivas also communicated that situation directly to the people in charge: “I did a call to Him to the personnel of purchase of Pdval so that it was put in agreement with the department of food distribution and would make the orders on the basis of its capacity of distribution”.

The finishing touch of this history already well is known: what Hair began like an investigation of the Service Bolivariano de Inteligencia by merchandise disappeared in the wharves of Port, finished opening the bad scent that concentrated several containers. Thus a scandal began that has not stopped showing rotted”, “decomposed” or “payable” food “in several points of the country.

Until Friday, the denunciations added 121,920 tons of lost products. In the department of press of the Public Ministry they did not need, nevertheless, if its investigation has including the new cases. It is only known, in agreement with the declarations that the general prosecutor of the Republic, Luisa Grouse, offered 10 of June the past, which “officially have been 1,074 containers in Port Hair and other 1,260 in the population of Tinaquillo”.

In the Chamber of Commerce of Port Hair they notice, however, that most of the foods damaged already were nationalized and outside the customs. “The ports did not have anything to do; they could not distribute that food and for that reason it is that in Fedecámaras we have said that the foods do not rot to us”, concludes Rivas.

For Berrizbeitia, this case “is an example of how they are administering the country”. It is wondered where it is the managemental capacity in the distribution and audit of the processes of Pdval. But beyond the political considerations, it warns that almost the 122,000 tons of lost food have generated shortage and, therefore, until an inflationary effect in the same products that found damaged: milk, rice, sugar, oil and flour, among others.

Monopolized food
The first damaged food denunciations the past left 27 May of the customs of Port Hair: civil servants of the Service Bolivariano de Inteligencia found that day 1,197 containers with foods kept by more than eight months. Thus a series of denunciations against the imports of Pdval began, that add almost 122,000 tons of food damaged in different points from the states Carabobo, Cojedes, Yaracuy and, recently, Zulia.

Only in Carabobo, there are reports of 84,554 tons of products like milk, rice, chicken and tins of tomato, that did not arrive at the public. Neidy Rosal, deputy of the Legislative Council of that organization, took the first denunciation the past to Public Ministry 26 of February, three months before the case became scandal. Nevertheless, the vice-president of the Republic, Elías Jaua, noticed Thursday on a “campaign of manipulation” of assumptions new cases.

“Given back humanitarian Aid”
¨Parte of damaged foods arrived at Haiti like humanitarian aid. The news is one that was known after the customs authorities of Dominican Republic gave back to the ship Santa Paula, with at least 40 loaded payable product containers. The news gave the return him to the world and three days later, the Ministry of Feeding reacted with an official notice, in which they assure was Venezuela the one that “asked for the return of the containers, to avoid the victory of foods”, after evaluating the “existing conditions in Haiti”.

Another irregular event happened the 6 of November of 2007 with a load concerned by the Ministry of Feeding: a ship loaded with 1,750 head of cattle, coming from Brazil, sank in the coasts of Port Hair. Which was searched in the hope of a wharf available, when the head of cattle began to move of way, caused a collapse by starboard.

Burned chicken
The newspaper the Morning of the state Falcon showed several graphs of the garbage dump of Tiguadare, with surrounded rotten foods in packings that had the seal of “socialist Venezuela”. After a denunciation of inhabitants of the zone, the newspaper noticed that a machine arrived at the waste basket to dig a grave, in whom soon they threw, burned and covered several tons of products like congealed chicken. After the reactions, the journalists of the case have received anonymous threats.

In the Sucre state also there are reports of chickens thrown in a garbage dump of Cumaná. Many of the denunciations are anonymous but they have been appearing in all the country: in the small village Acarigua River, of the Portuguese state, they found a lot of rice, grains and milk that seemed burned. The coordinator of the First Justice in the organization, Lorenzo Pineapple. he indicated that the neighbors have seen gando those that arrive at the site with foods, that later incinerate.

Kept medicines
The past 4 of June appeared a shipment of medicines overcome in a shed of San Cristóbal, Táchira state. One is vaccines against the hepatitis To and meningitis, antiallergic, gauzes and inyectadoras that happened inadvertent. “Most serious of everything it is that we found vaccines for the infantile hepatitis, that was within a fourth cold to keep meat”, it lamented the regional deputy, Beatriz Mora, after looking for by three months the consumptions that the administration of the ex- governor acquired White Ronald the Cross.

One week later similar denunciations in Monagas were reported: representatives of Popular Will warned on the burning fire of surgical soundings, catheters, bags of serum, antibiotic blisters and syringes. On the other hand, the coordinator of District Inside in the state Lara, Luis Rodriguez, informed that there are 500 medecine boxes overcome in that organization.

Rejected milk
The governor of the state Anzoátegui, Tarek William Saab, recognized Friday that the Terminal of Storage and Office of the Cryogenic one of Jose became milk garbage dump.

The scandal of Pdval hardly exploded, began to circulate rumors on dust milk kept in facilities where it stores to petroleum and gasoline. The National Guard at dawn surrounded the place of the past 4 of June. The access was restricted, but Tarek William finished admitting the suspicions of the neighbors of the zone: a milk shipment concerned of China was deposited in 2009 in Jose.

The governor announced legal actions against the Chinese company that sold the product, but considered that he is a “refrito”, the old news that they try to mix with the case of Pdval. Even so, he received critics. ”Why never they made that information public? “, Jose asked to the union leader Weddings.

Fermented Popes
A group of producers of the Rangel municipality of the Merida state denounced the past week that 20 thousand coats of Pope seed were damaged in sheds of the sector Black District. The residents of the desert had tried to verify from December the conditions of those 500 tons of seeds, but the past 8 of June confirmed that they had fungi.

The National Federation of Associations of Producers of Pope and Vegetables also had noticed this situation before the Public Ministry. “In spite of to have denounced all the irregular facts that they consist in date 21/08/09, 04/09/09 and 24/09/09, with his respective Annexes, and of the contributed diligences and data, they have been repeated again done, of presumably fraudulent character, that go to the detriment of the National Patrimony, of the producers of Pope and the consumers”, it indicates another denunciation interposed the past 25 of February in the Office of the public prosecutor number 57.

Joseph Poliszuk