Operation Money Badger
{{Short description|Secret DEA espionage operation}}
{{infobox event |name=Operation Money Badger|part_of=|type=Secret mission|scope= |location=Venezuela |participants=DEA |date=2013-? |image=Seal of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.svg|caption =Logo of the Drug Enforcement Administration.}}
Operation Money Badger was a secret espionage operation carried out in Venezuela by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and United States prosecutors since 2013.
After the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Manhattan released a series of classified documents in an apparent accident,{{Cite web |date=4 February 2024 |title=Operación "Tejón del Dinero": cómo fue la arriesgada investigación secreta de la DEA en Venezuela |url=https://elpolitico.com/operacion-tejon-del-dinero-como-fue-la-arriesgada-investigacion-secreta-de-la-dea-en-venezuela/ |access-date= |website=El Político}} Associated Press (AP) published an investigative report with the news on February 1, 2024.{{cite web |last=Goodman |first=Joshua |last2=Mustian |first2=Jim |date=2024-02-01 |title=«Programa secreto de EEUU espió a funcionarios de Venezuela burlando el derecho internacional |url=https://apnews.com/world-news/general-news-c08f30190a31873b73b0c154b28e9f9f |website=Associated Press |language=es}}
History
The secret 15-page report made in 2018 was available on the internet for a few hours, until an AP journalist began asking questions and it was taken down.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-03 |title=“Operación Tejón del Dinero”, el procedimiento con el que la DEA espiaba al chavismo |url=https://www.diariolasamericas.com/operacion-tejon-del-dinero-el-procedimiento-el-que-la-dea-espiaba-al-chavismo-n5350912 |website=Diario Las Américas |language=es}} It revealed that an investigative operation had begun in 2013 and had intensified during the Trump administration. The memo was intended not to be made public in the future.{{cite web|url=https://www.elimpulso.com/2024/02/01/operacion-tejon-dinero-ap-filtro-investigacion-de-la-dea-en-venezuela-1feb/|title="Operación Tejón Dinero": AP filtró investigación de la DEA en Venezuela |last=Aulino|first=Carmenmilagro|date=2024-02-01|website=El Impulso|language=es}}
The report also reported that the United States had infiltrated DEA operatives in Venezuela under the order that "it is necessary to carry out this operation unilaterally and without notifying the Venezuelan authorities," recognizing that it could be a violation of international law.
The operation targeted dozens of people, including Nicolás Maduro and the Minister of Energy. Alex Saab was one of the spied on officials, as well as a fugitive Defense contractor.{{cite web |last=Cermeño |first=Jheilyn |date=2024-02-01 |title=AP: "Operación Tejón del Dinero", el programa que habría usado EEUU para espiar en Venezuela |url=https://2001online.com/internacionales/ap-operacion-tejon-del-dinero-el-programa-que-habria-usado-eeuu-para-espiar-en-venezuela/ |website=Diario 2001 |language=es}} About a hundred people had been investigated by the United States.{{cite web |date=2024-02-03 |title=Investigación reveló que la DEA habría espiado a altos funcionarios venezolanos |url=https://www.elespectador.com/mundo/america/investigacion-revelo-que-la-dea-had-espiado-altos-funrios-venezolanos-noticias-hoy/ |website=El Espectador |language=es}}
As part of the operation, Group 10 of the DEA's Miami Field Division recruited as an informant a professional money launderer accused of stealing $800 million from Venezuela's foreign exchange system through a fraudulent import scheme.{{cite web |date=2 February 2024 |title=Operación Tejón Dinero, la investigación secreta de la DEA al alto mando venezolano |url=https://www.elnacional.com/venezuela/operacion-tejon-dinero-la-investigacion-secreta-de-la-dea-al-alto-mando-venezolano/ |website=El Nacional |language=es}}
The DEA collected information regarding the former governor of Táchira, José Vielma Mora, and Luis Motta Domínguez, who were later accused by the United States of money laundering linked to bribery.
References
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Category:Drug Enforcement Administration operations
Category:Intelligence operations
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