The international pressure on the Chavista regime is intensifying. On Tuesday, the Swiss government unveiled a list of 37 senior officials, family members, and business associates linked to Nicolás Maduro's administration whose accounts and assets have been frozen within Swiss territory, as reported by a Transparency Venezuela investigation.
The Swiss Federal Council issued the directive on January 5, merely two days following the arrest and extradition of Maduro himself to New York on charges of narco-terrorism and corruption.
This action aims to prevent the illicit assets from being moved outside the European nation. Although Swiss authorities have not disclosed the specific amounts, Swiss banks have reported the funds under the Foreign Illicit Assets Act.
In 2021, local media suggested that the financial assets connected to Maduro's circle exceeded $10 billion, according to El Mundo.
Key figures among the sanctioned include Cilia Flores, the three sons of the so-called "first revolutionary fighter"—Walter, Yosser, and Yoswal Gavidia Flores—and her nephew Erick Malpica Flores, a former national treasurer and PDVSA Finance Vice President.
All of these individuals had already been listed on the U.S. Clinton List due to corruption, bribery, and money laundering through overpriced contracts and illegal commissions.
The Swiss order also targets Marleny Contreras, wife of Diosdado Cabello, along with Jorge Arreaza, Hugo Chávez's former son-in-law, and former oil executives such as Rafael Ramírez and his cousin Diego Salazar, as well as ex-deputy ministers Nervis Villalobos, Javier Alvarado, and former treasurer Alejandro Andrade, now a cooperating witness in the U.S.
Among the so-called boliburgueses, businessmen favored by the revolution, are Raúl Gorrín, Gustavo Perdomo, Alejandro Betancourt, and Francisco Convit, all involved in financial schemes and money laundering.
This measure highlights what Transparency Venezuela sarcastically referred to as the "familial love" of Chavismo, which has also become a hereditary business. As Caracas struggles to rebuild its political system in the aftermath of Maduro's downfall, the revolution's money remains frozen thousands of miles away, secured in Swiss financial vaults.
With this new resolution, Switzerland has now sanctioned a total of 70 Venezuelans over the past decade, solidifying its role as a key European ally in the fight against global corruption and the plundering of Venezuela's public treasury.
Impact of Swiss Sanctions on Venezuela
Why did Switzerland freeze the accounts of Chavista leaders?
Switzerland froze the accounts to prevent the transfer of illicit assets linked to corruption and narco-terrorism by the Chavista regime.
Who are some of the key figures affected by the Swiss sanctions?
Key figures include Nicolás Maduro, Cilia Flores, her sons, nephew Erick Malpica Flores, and several other officials and businessmen involved in corruption.
How does this action by Switzerland fit into the broader international measures against the Chavista regime?
This action is part of a larger international effort to combat corruption and asset plundering by the Venezuelan regime, aligning Switzerland with other countries that have imposed sanctions.