Javier Bertucci

Last updated

Javier Bertucci
Javier Bertucci.png
Born
Javier Alejandro Bertucci Carrero

(1969-11-16) November 16, 1969 (age 53)
Guanare, Portuguesa, Venezuela
Occupation(s)businessman, religious leader, politician
Political party Esperanza por El Cambio (EL CAMBIO)
SpouseRebeca Barrios
ChildrenRaquel Rebeca, Valeria Alejandra y Javier Abraham

Javier Alejandro Bertucci Carrero (born November 16, 1969) is an evangelical pastor, philanthropist, and Venezuelan businessman. In 2016, he was linked to the leakage of the Panama Papers. He runs the Maranatha Christian Church, a religious congregation with more than 16,000 followers in Latin America that expands social work and evangelist through the Civil Association El Evangelio Cambia, of which he is a leader and founder. He was a candidate in the 2018 Venezuelan presidential election. [1] [2]

Contents

Biography

Javier Bertucci was born on November 16, 1969, in Guanare, Portuguesa, to a peasant family that subsisted on a banana and tobacco producing plantation. From 1993, with his wife Rebeca, Bertucci began to preach in squares, parks, and houses. In the 1990s, the Bertucci Barrios family moved to Valencia, where they lived, and simultaneously formed a small evangelical church in the town of Tinaquillo (Cojedes, 48 km southwest of Valencia), which remained for the next five years. [3]

House arrest

On July 2, 2010, Bertucci was charged with aggravated smuggling and conspiracy to commit a crime. He was detained for three days when he tried to move a 5,000-metric-ton tanker ship from the Ocamar dock in Puerto Cabello to the port of Barahona in the Dominican Republic. The ship was thought to contain 5,000 tons of diesel disguised as paint thinner. [4] The diesel, through its Tecnopetrol company, was referenced in file GP01-R-2010-000234 of the Court of Appeals. [5] [6] [ clarification needed ]

During the presentation hearing, prosecutors Armando Galindo, Yolanda Carrero and Francisco Leal requested that Bertucci receive a custodial (incarceration) sentence.[ citation needed ] On July 4, the first judge in control of the Criminal Judicial Circuit, extension Puerto Cabello, Henry Chirino, ordered his house arrest. On September 30 of the same year he was granted a permit to leave his residence only to officiate at the Maranatha Church. [ citation needed ]

On December 20, Bertucci received a substitute measure of freedom with a filing system and was banned from leaving the country. His defense appealed and the court annulled the sentence, initiating a new trial that is still in progress under judge No. 2 of the Judicial Criminal Circuit of Carabobo state, Rosa Matute. The Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice does not have a record of a signature sentence [ clarification needed ] on the case. [6] [7]

Panama Papers

Bertucci was linked to the leakage of the Panama Papers in 2016. According to a series of emails delivered to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung consulted for an investigation by journalist Katherine Pennacchio, Bertucci contacted the law firm Mossack Fonseca to be the president of Stockwin Enterprises Inc, a company created in Panama on January 3, 2012, with a capital investment of five million dollars dedicated to the purchase and sale of inputs, mainly the importation of raw materials from the food sector. [6] [8]

Desiré Obadia, an intermediary client of the company and the person in charge of negotiating with Mossak Fonsecca, denied that the transaction had been completed, stating that in order to import an import license and Cadivi dollars (National Center for Foreign Commerce) were needed, and that neither of the two were obtained. During the investigation, attempts were made to contact Bertucci on several occasions, but no response was received until five days after the report was published, when Bertucci explained that the initiative did not materialize and that he did not have the resources to possess accounts in tax havens. [6]

Both the intermediary of Mossack Fonseca [9] and Bertucci denied the accusations and rejected the investigative work done by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. [10] The journalist was subjected to cyberbullying and attacks on social networks headed by Bertucci himself. [11]

Political career

Campaign wall paintings of Bertucci in Altamira, Caracas. Campana Bertucci 2.jpg
Campaign wall paintings of Bertucci in Altamira, Caracas.

In January 2018 he announced his presidential candidacy, in which he referred to his desire to be "the light among the darkness," to seek to electoral victory over Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, and to affect change in the country. [12]

As the Venezuelan constitution establishes a secular requirement for those running for office, Bertucci had to leave his occupation as a pastor. [13]

Among his proposals as a candidate is the lifting of exchange control. [14] He has also declared that he would not govern with Chavismo or with the opposition. [15] He has additionally expressed his desire to implement Sunday radio and television channels using the Bible, and converting Venezuelans into "devotional" Christians, and to implement "Christian values". [16] He has positioned himself against same-sex marriage and is in favor of abortion only in medical cases or that compromise the life of the mother. [17] [ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diosdado Cabello</span> Venezuelan politician and military officer

Diosdado Cabello Rondón is a Venezuelan politician and current member of the National Assembly of Venezuela, where he previously served as Speaker. He is also an active member of the Venezuelan armed forces, with the rank of captain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolás Maduro</span> President of Venezuela since 2013

Nicolás Maduro Moros is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Censorship in Venezuela</span>

Censorship in Venezuela refers to all actions which can be considered as suppression in speech in the country. Reporters Without Borders ranked Venezuela 137th out of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index 2015 and classified Venezuela's freedom of information in the "difficult situation" level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Venezuelan protests</span> Series of protests in Venezuela

In 2014, a series of protests, political demonstrations, and civil insurrection began in Venezuela due to the country's high levels of urban violence, inflation, and chronic shortages of basic goods attributed to economic policies such as strict price controls. Mass protesting began in earnest in February following the attempted rape of a student on a university campus in San Cristóbal. Subsequent arrests and killings of student protesters spurred their expansion to neighboring cities and the involvement of opposition leaders. The year's early months were characterized by large demonstrations and violent clashes between protesters and government forces that resulted in nearly 4,000 arrests and 43 deaths, including both supporters and opponents of the government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election</span> Election in Venezuela

Parliamentary elections were held in Venezuela on 6 December 2015 to elect the 164 deputies and three indigenous representatives of the National Assembly. They were the fourth parliamentary elections to take place after the 1999 constitution, which abolished the bicameral system in favour of a unicameral parliament, and the first to take place after the death of President Hugo Chávez. Despite predictions from the opposition of a possible last-minute cancellation, the elections took place as scheduled, with the majority of polls showing the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) holding a wide lead over the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and its wider alliance, the Great Patriotic Pole (GPP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Venezuelan presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Venezuela on 20 May 2018, with incumbent Nicolás Maduro being declared re-elected for a second six-year term. The original electoral date was scheduled for December 2018 but was subsequently pulled ahead to 22 April before being pushed back to 20 May. Some analysts described the poll as a sham election, with the elections having the lowest voter turnout in the country's democratic era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venezuelan diaspora</span>

The Venezuelan diaspora refers to Venezuelan citizens living outside Venezuela. In times of economic and political crisis since the 2010s, Venezuelans have often fled to other countries in the Americas and beyond to establish a more sustainable life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foro Penal</span> Venezuelan NGO focused on human rights

Foro Penal is a Venezuelan human rights organization that provides legal assistance pro bono to people subject of arbitrary detentions and their relatives. The organization is composed of regional coordinators for each state in Venezuela, pro bono lawyers on a national level and a network of over five thousand volunteers, non-lawyer activists, known as "active defensors".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maikel Moreno</span> Venezuelan judge and presidente of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice

Maikel José Moreno Pérez is a lawyer, doctor of Venezuelan constitutional law, and judge who currently serves as president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela.

The Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela (TSJ) in exile is an institution that some, including the Organization of American States, consider to be the legitimate highest court of law in Venezuela and the head of the judicial branch, as opposed to the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. It was established on 21 July 2017 following the 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis. The TSJ's 33 members have been based in Chile, Colombia, Panama, and the United States due to the political crisis in Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detention of Juan Requesens</span>

Juan Requesens, a deputy of the Venezuelan National Assembly, was arrested as a suspect in the Caracas drone attack, an alleged assassination plot on the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The circumstances of his arrest and detention are controversial, and irregularities surround the legal proceedings. Requesens was imprisoned in El Helicoide from his arrest on 7 August 2018, with allegations of torture to coerce a confession, and delays impeding the legal process and hearings until his release on 28 August 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esperanza por El Cambio</span> Venezuelan political party

Hope for Change is a Venezuelan political party registered by the Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) with the shortened name El Cambio. In the 2018 presidential election, Venezuelan pastor and party leader Javier Bertucci received enough votes to turn Hope for Change into an official political party. Aside from Bertucci, other leaders of the party include Alfonso Campos, the party's Secretary-General, Jeickson Portillo, its National Coordinator, and Luis Adames, its Undersecretary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Guaidó</span> Venezuelan politician and engineer

Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez is a Venezuelan politician, member of the social-democratic Popular Will party and federal deputy to the National Assembly representing the state of Vargas. On 23 January 2019, Guaidó and the National Assembly declared that he was acting president of Venezuela, starting the Venezuelan presidential crisis by challenging Nicolás Maduro's presidency. In December 2022, opposition parties voted to dissolve the Guaidó interim government, and the dissolution occurred on 5 January 2023, ending Guaidó's presidential claim.

The Local Committees for Supply and Production are food distribution committees promoted by the Venezuelan government in which the communities themselves supply and distribute the priority foods through a house-to-house delivery method. It was established in 2016 by President Nicolás Maduro in response to the ongoing shortages in Venezuela. The committees have been subject of complaints about corruption, political use, delays, poor food quality and price increases without prior warning. This service is a subsidiary of the Ministry of Popular Power for Food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venezuela Aid Live</span>

Venezuela Aid Live was a concert to benefit Venezuela in Cúcuta, Colombia, a city near the Venezuelan border, on 22 February 2019. The all-day concert, called Música por Venezuela: Ayuda y Libertad, was organized by Richard Branson and Bruno Ocampo, and featured over thirty of the best known Latin American artists from nine countries. The concert's slogan was, "Let the stars shine for all".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 shipping of humanitarian aid to Venezuela</span>

During the presidential crisis between the Venezuelan governments of Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guaidó, a coalition of Colombia, Brazil, the United States and the Netherlands attempted to bring essential goods as a response to shortages in Venezuela. The three main bases used for the operation are: the Colombian city of Cúcuta, the Brazilian state of Roraima,, and the island of Curaçao, of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Nicolás Maduro, incumbent President of Venezuela since 2013 and successor of Hugo Chávez, was officially nominated for re-election as the presidential candidate of the Great Patriotic Pole (GPP) on 4 February 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Panama–Venezuela diplomatic crisis</span>

The 2018 Panama–Venezuela diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic stand-off between Panama and Venezuela after the Panamanian government imposed sanctions on President Nicolás Maduro and several key officials of the Bolivarian government over alleged involvement with "money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction" on 29 March 2018.

Jorge Elieser Marquez is a Venezuelan politician. He is the minister in charge of Office of the Presidency and Monitoring of Government Management of Venezuela. He was appointed minister on 3 November 2017 by President Nicolas Maduro.

References

  1. ↑ "Pastor Javier Bertucci oficializa su candidatura presidencial ante el CNE". El Nacional (Venezuela). February 28, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  2. ↑ "¿Quién es Javier Bertucci?, el primer contrincante de Maduro en las presidenciales". La Nación . February 20, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  3. ↑ "¿Quién es Javier Bertucci? – Historia de vida". notipascua.com. February 20, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  4. ↑ "How Free Soup Can Build a Constituency in Venezuela". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Javier Bertucci, the evangelical linked to the Panama Papers who dreams of being president (Javier Bertucci, el evangélico vinculado a los Panama Papers que sueña con ser presidente)". El Cooperante. February 18, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018. url with English translation
  6. 1 2 3 4 Pennacchio, Katherine (2016). "Javier Bertucci: el pastor que predica como importador". In Armando.info (ed.). Panama Papers (El caso Venezuela) (in Spanish). La Hoja del Norte. pp. 93–97. ISBN   978-980-4250-00-2.
  7. ↑ "¿Quién es Javier Bertucci? – Historia de vida". El Pitazo. February 24, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  8. ↑ "El mercado de la fe: Javier Bertucci, el pastor y empresario venezolano reseñado en Panama Papers". NTN24. April 4, 2016. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  9. ↑ "El mercado de la fe: Javier Bertucci, el pastor y empresario venezolano reseñado en Panama Papers". NTN24. April 4, 2016. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Habla el pastor Javier Bertucci tras ser mencionado en los Papeles de Panamá: "Se está lesionando la fe"". NTN24. April 8, 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  11. ↑ Instituto Prensa y Sociedad Venezuela (April 7, 2016). "Periodista fue agredida verbalmente tras investigación relacionada con los Papeles de Panamá" . Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  12. ↑ ""Soy la luz en las tinieblas", dice pastor que quiere destronar a Maduro". El Nacional. February 23, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Cinco claves sobre Bertucci, pastor evangélico y candidato a Presidente acusado de contrabando". Efecto Cocuyo. February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  14. ↑ Panorama.com.ve (March 2, 2018). "Javier Bertucci: Tendríamos que levantar el control cambiario porque es una camisa de fuerza". Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Pastor Bertucci: No tengo ninguna vinculación con los 'Panama Papers'". Globovisión. February 23, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Pastor venezolano señalado en 'Panama Papers' aspirará a la Presidencia". El Comercio. February 18, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  17. ↑ Martinez, Ana Isabel. "Venezuela evangelical candidate pushes Christian values in midst of..." U.S. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.