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(CNN Spanish) --
A South Florida jury found Claudia Patricia Díaz Guillén, who was director of the Venezuelan National Treasury Office during the government of the late President Hugo Chávez, guilty of crimes related to money laundering. according to court documents obtained Wednesday by CNN.
In December 2020, the former Venezuelan official and her husband, Adrián José Velásquez Figueroa, were charged in a court in the Southern District of Florida with money laundering and conspiracy to launder money, as reported at the time by the US Department of Justice. This Tuesday, Velásquez was found guilty of the same crimes as Díaz Guillén.
Claudia Patricia Díaz Guillén, former treasurer of the government of Hugo Chávez, is extradited to the US
Díaz Guillén and Velásquez were arrested in 2018 in Spain and extradited to the United States in May and October of this year, respectively.
CNN contacted the lawyers for Díaz Guillén and her husband in Florida on Wednesday, as well as the US Department of Justice, for more details on the case.
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According to US prosecutors and the prosecution, Díaz Guillén and her husband — who was part of the security team of the late President Hugo Chávez — received "millions of dollars" in bribes from Raúl Gorrín, owner of the Globovisión television station in Venezuela.
According to the file, Gorrín sought preferential access to the purchase of dollars in Venezuela between 2008 and 2017, years in which an exchange control regime was in force in the country.
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According to the US Department of Justice, Gorrín allegedly "transferred money for and for the benefit" of the defendants, which was used for "private jets, yachts, houses, horses, high-end watches and a fashion line." .
Gorrín, who lives in Venezuela and has been declared a fugitive by the US Justice, also on money laundering charges, has defended himself on several occasions on social networks and has said that US prosecutors are promoting a narrative motivated by " political interests" and that they do so "without probative elements of any kind".
CNN is also trying to contact Gorrín for comment.
Hugo ChávezMoney laundering