Venezuela has consolidated under Chavismo as the ultimate refuge for fugitives from international justice, providing political, administrative, and economic protection that is once again at the center of controversy. The recent death of Xabier Arruti Imaz, one of the leading figures of the terrorist group ETA in the Caribbean country, is irrefutable proof of a network that not only allowed the residency of murderers but actively integrated them into the structure of the State to serve the interests of the dictatorship of Maduro.
The death of this bloodthirsty ETA member occurred in Chichiriviche, Falcón state, a tourist area that the regime transformed into a shelter for terrorists. In that same locality, another criminal of the worst kind, José Ignacio de Juana Chaos, took refuge after fleeing Spanish justice in 2010. Arruti, far from living in hiding, enjoyed an active and privileged public life: he was a delegate of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and held positions in public companies such as Gas Comunal, a subsidiary of the state oil company PDVSA.
This link with PDVSA is particularly alarming today, as the National Court of Spain investigates corruption networks that reach former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
According to investigations by Judge José Luis Calama in the context of the Plus Ultra case, the Spanish politician allegedly exercised a "determining influence" in crude oil buying and selling operations, being identified as the "leader" of an "organized influence peddling scheme".
