Simón Bolívar Foundation Rejects Fund Diversion Accusations, Cites Undisclosed Link for Grant Rescission

The Simón Bolívar Foundation has vehemently denied accusations of diverting $75,000 to the family of Orlando Viera-Blanco, who served as Canada's ambassador during Venezuela's interim government led by Juan Guaidó. The foundation asserted that the claims are false and do not align with its organizational records.

In a public statement, the institution clarified that it did not make payments to individuals nor did it finance private activities. It emphasized that all resources were managed under stringent control mechanisms. "The accusation is false and the figure mentioned is incorrect. The Foundation made no payment to the Viera-Blanco family, did not finance any wedding, and found no evidence that any person benefited improperly from the grant," the statement read.

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La acusación es falsa y la cifra señalada es incorrecta. La Fundación no realizó pago alguno a la familia Viera-Blanco, no financió ninguna boda y no encontró evidencia de que alguna persona se beneficiara indebidamente de la subvención.

According to official information, the Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant in 2020 to the American Venezuelan Engagement Foundation Inc. (AVEF) as part of its COVID-19 Small Grants Program. This program aimed to support food assistance initiatives for vulnerable Venezuelan populations. The funds were transferred directly to the non-profit organization through a competitive and transparent process.

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La subvención se otorgó a través del Programa de Pequeñas Subvenciones covid-19 de la Fundación, en un proceso abierto e imparcial, y se pagó directamente a la organización, y no a una persona.

However, a routine internal audit later detected an inconsistency in AVEF's eligibility declaration. The foundation explained that the president of AVEF had failed to disclose her marital relationship with Mr. Viera-Blanco, a fact that would have disqualified the organization from receiving the grant. The Foundation reviewed the case under criteria of good faith, finding no indication of fraudulent intent.

As a result of this review, the Board of Directors decided to rescind the grant and recover the unspent funds. The foundation detailed that approximately $22,000 had been used for the "Feeding Smiles" food assistance program, providing over 368,000 meals to hungry families across Venezuela. The remaining $28,000 was returned to the Foundation. The organization reiterated that the funds were exclusively used for humanitarian purposes and rejected any suggestion of misuse.

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Meses después de otorgada la subvención, una auditoría interna de rutina detectó información errónea en el cuestionario de elegibilidad de AVEF. La presidenta de AVEF no había revelado su vínculo matrimonial con el señor Viera-Blanco, lo que habría inhabilitado a la organización para recibir la subvención.