The Spanish entrepreneur Víctor de Aldama organized a secret meeting in Cuba in 2021 between the then Minister of Transport, José Luis Ábalos, and the current interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, according to intercepted messages by the Civil Guard that are part of an investigation being conducted by the National Court. This investigation is examining, among other things, a possible irregular funding of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE).
The meeting never took place. First, the closure of Cuban airspace forced a consideration to move the venue to the Dominican Republic, and finally, the dismissal of Ábalos by President Pedro Sánchez on July 10, 2021, ultimately thwarted the gathering.
According to the conversations published by El Mundo, Aldama wrote to Rodríguez on May 24, 2021, to inform him that "the boss," as he referred to Ábalos, "is planning a trip to Cuba from August 2 to 6" and to ask him if they could coordinate a meeting there.
"Cool, Vic," Rodríguez replied.
Weeks later, Aldama informed him that the trip to the island was becoming complicated. "The boss tells me that the ambassador of Cuba says that flights cannot operate because the airspace has been closed again. That if the meeting could be held in the Dominican Republic." Rodríguez replied, "Yes, of course."
The exchanges were conducted via Threema, an encrypted messaging application, and were recovered by the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard. According to the investigation cited by El Mundo, Aldama claimed that there were matters related to multimillion-dollar transactions involving Venezuelan oil that could only be discussed in person.
The meeting would have marked the first encounter between Ábalos and Rodríguez since the so-called "Delcygate" in January 2020, when the then-Venezuelan vice president stopped at the Adolfo Suárez Barajas airport in Madrid, despite being banned from entering the Schengen area due to European Union sanctions. Ábalos went to the airport at that time accompanied by Aldama.
After the departure of the government minister, the businessman organized a trip to Caracas to personally explain to Rodríguez what had happened.
"I see flights to fly on Tuesday and stay until Thursday or Friday [...] This way I can tell you everything well, as he told me to tell you, and I'll catch you up," Aldama wrote to her. "Sure, sounds good," she replied.
Months later, in October 2021, Ábalos' then-adviser, Koldo García, also traveled to Caracas and held a meeting with Rodríguez. According to messages and the account later provided by Aldama, there were significant disagreements at that time regarding the distribution of commissions related to Venezuelan oil operations.
Aldama asked Rodríguez not to reveal any details about his business in Venezuela to Koldo. "What a mess really, don't worry, I'll just tell the truth," she replied.
"This situation is not good for you. Obviously, I won’t get involved. This is a matter for you to resolve," Rodríguez also wrote to the businessman while referring to the differences that arose with Koldo.
Communications are part of the investigations into the relationships between Aldama, former officials of the Ministry of Transport, and Venezuelan leaders. The businessman has stated before the National Court that certain oil operations were linked to an alleged irregular funding of the PSOE, an accusation that remains under judicial investigation.
Aldama has also stated that Delcy Rodríguez handed him an envelope containing documentation related to the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and that alleged funding.
The case runs parallel to the so-called Koldo case, in which the Spanish Supreme Court sentenced Ábalos to 24 years and three months in prison and Koldo García to 19 years and eight months on June 22. Aldama was sentenced to four years and six months; however, the Supreme Court suspended the execution of the sentence after considering his cooperation with the Justice System particularly favorable.
The Supreme Court found Ábalos guilty of several crimes, including organized crime, bribery, embezzlement, and influence peddling, while Aldama was convicted of organized crime and several counts of bribery.
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