Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Friday 14 February 2020

Venezuela's Foreign Minster Jorge Arreaza speaks during a
press conference after visiting the International Criminal Court
in The Hague, Netherlands, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020.
Associated Press
Venezuela slams In this July 29, 2015 file photo, the Puerto Rican flag flies in front of Puerto Rico's Capitol as in San
Juan, Puerto Rico.
Trump for sanctions Associated Press

set on regime change Puerto Rico online scam targeted

By SCOTT SMITH lapse, with shortages of more than $4M amid crisis
Associated Press basic services like water, By DÁNICA COTO made. The other payment became pub-
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) lights, gas and medical Associated Press lic late Wednesday through a police re-
— The government of Presi- care that have driven at SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — An online port.
dent Nicolás Maduro de- least 4.5 million to emigrate scam that targeted Puerto Rican agen- Ayala said no other government agen-
manded that Washington in recent years. cies attempted to steal more than $4 cies have reported a loss as a result of
stop piling on punishing fi- The Trump administration million, police said Thursday, deepening the scam. He said the FBI is investigating
nancial sanctions aimed at first hit Venezuela's state- concerns about the management of lo- how the computer at the Employee Re-
forcing a regime change run oil company with sanc- cal government finances during an eco- tirement System got hacked.
in Venezuela as it took its tions aiming to cut off Mad- nomic crisis. On Thursday, legislators demanded a
case to the International uro's government from a Authorities have frozen at least $2.9 mil- probe as government officials declined
Criminal Court on Thursday. vast source of wealth, flow- lion, said an official who was not autho- to provide further information, citing an
Maduro's top diplomat ac- ing from the world's largest rized to comment on the case and re- ongoing investigation.
cused the Trump adminis- oil reserves. quested anonymity. The government has "The government of Puerto Rico is in a se-
tration of causing suffering It followed by putting doz- not said how much money was seized by rious fiscal crisis. It doesn't have enough
and death among millions ens of Venezuelans in Mad- the hacker. money to fulfill its obligations," said Puerto
of Venezuelans in the last uro's inner circle on its sanc- The scam began when someone hacked Rico Rep. Ramón Luis Cruz, who filed leg-
several years. tions list — including Madu- into the computer of a finance worker at islation seeking an investigation. "It's truly
"We believe that these uni- ro himself. Any of their U.S. the island's Employee Retirement System absurd and unsustainable to have such a
lateral, coercive measures assets were frozen and U.S. in December, said José Ayala, director shallow and vague explanation."
are crimes against human- citizens are banned from of the fraud unit within the bank rob- Incidents in which hackers spoof or com-
ity," Foreign Minister Jorge doing business with them. bery division. The hacker then posed as promise an email account from a legiti-
Arreaza said in a news Most recently, it targeted the female employee and sent emails to mate person or company are common
conference after filing the a fleet of 40 commercial various government agencies alleging a in the public and private sector, said Mer-
complaint. "They also vio- planes of the Venezuelan change in bank accounts, he told The edith Ward, policy and research director
late international law and state-run airline CONVIASA. Associated Press. at the National Association of State Chief
human rights." U.S. Treasury officials say Two agencies fell victim to the scam in Information Officers.
The White House is openly "corrupt regime officials" in recent months: Puerto Rico's Industrial "It can be compared to knocking on the
trying to drive Maduro from Maduro's government use Development Company sent $63,000 in door," she said. "Happens every day, but
power and was the first of the planes to advance an- December and more than $2.6 million in entry isn't always gained."
nearly 60 nations to rec- ti-democratic efforts, flying January, while the island's Tourism Com- Around the same time the Puerto Rico
ognize opposition leader to countries like North Ko- pany sent $1.5 million in January to fraud- incident occurred last month, a school
Juan Guaidó as the coun- rea, Cuba and Iran. ulent accounts on the U.S. mainland, he district in Manor, Texas, reported an
try's legitimate president. "What justifies sanctions said. email phishing scam that resulted in the
They argue that Maduro's on a transport company, Puerto Rico government officials realized loss of $2.3 million. Meanwhile, officials in
reelection in 2018 was in- a public service?" Mad- what had happened when the finance Griffin, Georgia, reported a loss of more
valid in part because the uro said, blasting the an- worker at the Employee Retirement Sys- than $800,000 last year after receiving an
most popular opposition nouncement. "What harm tem called the agencies and said she email requesting an account change.
politicians were barred do they do to me? The had not received any payments and of- More than 23,700 business email compro-
from participating. damage is done to the ficials responded they had already sent mises, as such scams are known, were
Trump recently ushered people of Venezuela." them. reported on the U.S. mainland last year,
Guaidó into a Oval Office Arreaza said in a news "That's when they call us and all hell with total adjusted losses of more than
meeting and called Madu- conference that he had breaks loose," Ayala said. $1.7 billion, according to the FBI. A spe-
ro a "tyrant." met with the prosecutor of El Nuevo Dia, a Puerto Rico daily news- cial FBI team said it helped recover more
Maduro critics say the so- the International Criminal paper, had reported the $1.5 million than $300 million stolen in that type of
cialist leader is responsible Court, delivering his case payment that the tourism company had scheme last year. q
for the oil-rich nation's col- against the United States.q