Angel Rondon, self-described as the commercial representative for the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, confirmed to El Dia over the Christmas holidays that his US visa has been revoked.
While unusual, the US government has issued a statement indicating that the visa had been cancelled and the reason for this. The US government published online that the visa of Angel Rondon was removed in his two Dominican passports that were issued in 2015 and expire in 2021 for the accusation of corruption levied on him in the judiciary. Rondon has denied he is an officer of the Dominican government. Rondon is included in the executive order on 20 December 2017, blocking the property of persons involved in serious human rights abuses and corruption.
Rondon acknowledged he received an amount similar to the US$92 million Odebrecht admitted paying in bribes in the Dominican Republic. However, Rondon has denied his compensation had anything to do with a bribe. He has insisted the money was for fees in payment of his services in assisting Odebrecht to get contract work from the Dominican government.
The US Embassy in the Dominican Republic issued a note on 21 December 2017:
“Today, together with the President and the Department of the Treasury, the Department of State took action against persons who have committed serious human rights abuses and engaged in corruption. Included in these actions was a Dominican, Angel Rondon Rijo. This action allows for the imposition of visa restrictions and blocks access to the US financial system.
“The Department of State is committed to promoting and protecting human rights and combatting corruption with all the resources at its disposal. The actions taken today, combined with other US efforts, continue to advance a world order that reflects our values and enhances the security of the United States. Today’s actions demonstrate the willingness of the U.S. to continue to pursue tangible and significant consequences for persons that commit serious abuses of human rights or corruption”
The action indicates that all property and interests in property of the affected individuals that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in.
Rondon commented to local reporters that his access to the US financial system has been suspended for the same reasons. Rondon says he has no assets in the United States, with the exception of a bank account to pay for his credit card US dollar charges.
In an interview in Diario Libre published on 21 December, Rondon insisted that that he had a commercial representation contract with Odebrecht since 2001 and he had billed for fees of US$102 million, of which he had been paid US$83 million. Rondon said he would sue the company for the remainder in the United States where Odebrecht still had contract work underway. There nothing has happened, Odebrecht only was corrupt in other countries, not in the United States,” he told Diario Libre.
He told the Diario Libre reporter that US Consul Channy Magger had called him to notify him of the cancelled visa. He said depending on the results of the legal case against him, he could request the visa again.
Rondon said that the decision is “untimely” because the case is still pending in Dominican courts. Nevertheless, he said the case puts pressure on Dominican justice.
The Attorney General Office is scheduled to present formal charges against 14 persons that were served pre-trial measures. In its presentation for the pre-trial measures, the Attorney General Office based itself on observations made by Odebrecht officers in Brazil.
Coinciding with the release of information that Angel Rondon’s visa had been cancelled, acting ambassador of the United States in the Dominican Republic, Robert Copley, published an opinion piece in the Listin Diario titled: “A Step Forward to Fight Corruption.” He gives background on the Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 enacted in 2012 to prevent that corrupt Russian officers use the US financial system to launder their illicit earnings. The removal of the visa to Angel Rondon is based on this act. It also bans US citizens or US residents from having dealings with the persons that are listed.
In his opinion piece, Copley writes:
“All too often, the abuse of human rights and committing acts of corruption are overlooked. Around the world there are democratic and judicial institutions that are weak, that have no independence or that it is difficult, if not impossible, to fight the powerful economic and political elite that commit these crimes. The actions of the US government show that we will not remain silent in the face of impunity.
“In this region, the Odebrecht case has promoted important advances in many countries in the fight against corruption. In the United States, our investigation of that case continues. The statement made by the US government yesterday focuses attention on these acts, imposes significant and real consequences on the perpetrators and serves as a warning to others.”
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Listin Diario
Diario Libre
26 February 2017
