Passport fraud in Venezuela and Iraq also known as "Passports in the Shadows", is a 2017 joint CNN and CNN en Espanol investigation exposing officials at the Venezuelan embassy in Baghdad, selling passports and visas to non citizens, including individuals with suspected ties to Hezbollah, in exchange for thousands of dollars. This drew global concern for their links to corruption, Human trafficking, and the potential facilitation of transnational crime and terrorism. The Venezuelan government said this wasn't true and took CNN en Español off the air, claiming the channel spread false information.
A passport is a formal travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. [1] Misael López Soto, former legal advisor to the Venezuelan embassy in Baghdad, exposed the plan that used fake names and was protected by powerful officials. [2] [3] He first approached the Venezuelan government, but was his allegations were ignored. He then approached the FBI, but in 2015, he was removed from his position in the embassy. In 2016 CNN en Español began its research and investigation about the fraud plan. [3]
Since the early 2000s, Venezuela's passport and ID system has been run by SAIME. Reports from journalists and intelligence agencies say some people inside SAIME sold real Venezuelan passports and ID cards to non citizens, including people from the Middle East. [3] The 2017 investigation revealed that the embassy in Baghdad was issuing genuine passports and other documents to people who may have ties to terrorist groups in exchange for bribes. This policy took place under and was linked to Presidents Nicolás Maduro and Hugo Chávez, Vice President Tareck El Aissami and other officials, who used passport distribution for political and money gains, offering citizenship and documents to allies from Iran, Lebanon, and Syria. [3] [4] [5] Some of the counterfeit passports issued, were linked to suspects connected to Hezbollah and other groups considered terrorist organizations by various governments. [6] [4] [3]
As government offices were in chaos, following the 2003 US invasion to Iraq, the black market grew as forgers and corrupt officials sold real Iraqi passports, especially from the Interior Ministry's Civil Status Directorate. According to Intelligence services and Interpol, militants and human traffickers used these passports, use was also made during the War against the Islamic State (2014–2019), [7] [8] as some were used to move fighters across borders. [9] [10] [11] [12]
Misael Lopez, former Venezuelan lawyer and legal advisor to the Venezuelan Embassy in Iraq from July 2013 to July 2015. He was the one who exposed the illegal sale of visas and passports inside the embassy in Baghdad. Following this, the Venezuelan government removed him for his duty and opened an investigation against him. He is now living in Spain. [3] [5]
Roger Noriega who was part of the investigation, was the US ambassador to the OAS (2001–2003) and later assistant secretary of state for the Americas (2003–2005). He spoke firmly against Venezuela and has claimed Hugo Chávez had ties to radical Islamist groups. [5]
Marco Ferreira, a retired Venezuelan National Guard general, led the country's immigration office in 2001–2002. He lost his job after backing a coup against President Hugo Chávez. Ferreira told CNN they were many problems in the immigration office including drug traffickers and suspected terrorists with several Venezuelan passports and ID cards. [5]
Tareck El Aissami, a well known Venezuelan politician was vice president and the former minister in charge of immigration. On 13 February 2017 El Aissami was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. [13] [14] In 2019, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) added El Aissami to the list of 10 most wanted fugitives. [15] On 26 March 2020, the U.S. Department of State offered $10 million for information to bring him to justice in relation to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism. [16] CNN investigation linked El Aissami to 173 passports and ID's given between 2008 and 2015 to individuals from the Middle East, some of whom were purportedly associated with Hezbollah. [17] [3]
Delcy Rodríguez has been Venezuela's foreign minister since 2014. Misael López says she ignored key reports about the alleged sale of Venezuelan passports and visas. At the 2016 UN General Assembly, Rodríguez said these claims were false. [5]
Jonathan Velasco is a Venezuelan politician who became ambassador to Iraq in May 2013. According to Misael López, Velasco knew that an interpreter at the embassy was selling passports and visas to non Venezuelans. Velasco denies this. [5]
Ghazi Nasr Al Din is a former Venezuelan diplomat who was born in Beirut and became a Venezuelan citizen in 1998. He worked in Syria and later in Lebanon. The US Treasury says he used his position to support Hezbollah with money, raised funds for the group, and helped its members travel to and from Venezuela. He is on an FBI wanted list for alleged terrorism links. [5] [18]
Venezuelan government and officials denied the allegations published by the CNN investigations. Following the report Venezuela took CNN en Español off the air, accusing it of spreading fake news. [5] [19]
In 2015, biometric e-passports was implemented in Iraq as an effort to fight forgery. Despite those efforts, corruption and the sale of blank passports have continued to undermine these measures, particularly in regions with limited central control such as Kirkuk and Mosul. [20] [21]
Several Latin American and North American governments have raised concerns about the security of Venezuelan passports, and the United States and Canada have at times stopped recognizing some Venezuelan documents for safety reasons. This has made migration control harder during Venezuela's large regional exodus. International bodies like Interpol, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) work to improve passport security worldwide. Venezuela and Iraq both joined ICAO's Public Key Directory program, but their compliance and transparency have been uneven.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: External link in |website=