PDVAL affair

{{Short description|2010 Venezuelan governmental affair}}

{{expand Spanish|Caso PDVAL|date=April 2019}}

{{Infobox event

| title = PDVAL affair

| image = PDVAL en la Comunidad Cardón.JPG

| caption = PDVAL warehouse in the Community of Cardón.

| date = {{start date|2009|04|02}} (First complaint is filed)
{{start date|2010|05|25}} (Discovery of the containers)

| Location = {{flag|Venezuela}}

| type = Political corruption

| cause = Finding of thousands of tons of expired food in PDVAL.

| outcome = Control of PDVAL passes from PDVSA to the Vice President, then to the {{ill|Ministry of Popular Power for Food|es|Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Alimentación}}
3 managers are arrested (2 are later released and reinstated)

}}

The PDVAL affair, also known as the Pudreval affair,{{refn|group=nb|Note: In Spanish Pudre (v. pudrir) means to spoil or to rot.}} refers to the finding of tons of rotten food supplies in mid-2010 imported during Hugo Chávez's government through subsidies of state-owned enterprise PDVAL. Due to the scandal, PDVAL started being administrated by the Vicepresidency of Venezuela and afterwards by the Alimentation Ministry.{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/epa/article/ALeqM5hGxTMTytdWbdjg85kySFN_Z4ZBZQ|title=Unos 170 millones de kilos de alimentos importados por Venezuela se han vencido, afirma la oposición|access-date=31 July 2010|publisher=Agencia EFE|date= 31 July 2010|work=Google|language= es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100804174844/http://www.google.com/hostednews/epa/article/ALeqM5hGxTMTytdWbdjg85kySFN_Z4ZBZQ|archive-date=4 August 2010}} Three former managers were detained,{{cite web|url=http://www.el-nacional.com/www/site/p_contenido.php?q=nodo/147369/Nacional/Audiencia-preliminar-por-caso-Pdval-ser%C3%A1-el-10-de-agosto|title=Audiencia preliminar por caso PDVAL será el 10 de agosto|access-date=29 July 2010|author=Agencia Venezolana de Noticias|date=1 August 2010|website=El Nacional|language=es}}{{dead link|url=http://www.el-nacional.com/www/site/p_contenido.php?q=nodo%2F147369%2FNacional%2FAudiencia-preliminar-por-caso-Pdval-ser%C3%A1-el-10-de-agosto|bot=InternetArchiveBot|date=March 2019}} but were released afterwards{{cite web|url=http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/petroleo/pdvsa/los-tres-acusados-por-el-caso-pdval-seran-enjuicia.aspx|title=Los tres acusados por el caso PDVAL serán enjuiciados en libertad condicional|access-date=14 May 2012|last=García Mora|first=Ileana|date=6 November 2011|website=El Mundo (Venezuela)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522213123/http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/petroleo/pdvsa/los-tres-acusados-por-el-caso-pdval-seran-enjuicia.aspx|archive-date=22 May 2014|url-status=dead}} and two of them had their positions restored.{{cite web|url=http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/imputados-de-pdval-volvieron-a-sus-cargos-en-pdvsa.aspx|title=Imputados de PDVAL volvieron a sus cargos en Pdvsa|access-date=17 May 2012|date=14 May 2012|website=Últimas Noticias|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712120057/http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/imputados-de-pdval-volvieron-a-sus-cargos-en-pdvsa.aspx|archive-date=12 July 2012}} In July 2010, official estimates stated that 130,000 tons of food supplies were affected, while the political opposition informed of 170,000 tons. As of 2012, any advances in the investigations by the National Assembly were unknown.{{cite web|url=http://globovision.com/news.php?nid=230805|title=Rechazan incluir en orden del día caso de alimentos descompuestos de PDVAL|access-date=17 May 2012|last=Ackerman|first=Sasha|date=15 May 2012|website=Globovisión|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411005550/http://globovision.com/news.php?nid=230805|archive-date=11 April 2013|url-status=dead}}

The most accepted explanation of the loss of food supplies is the organization of PDVAL, because the food network allegedly imported supplies faster than what it could distribute them. The opposition considers the affair as a corrupt case and spokespeople have assured that the public officials deliberately imported more food that could be distributed to embezzle funds through the import of subsidized supplies.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/economia/2010/06/100608_venezuela_escandalo_alimentos_lr.shtml|title=Venezuela: escándalo por alimentos vencidos|access-date= 29 July 2010 |author=Valery, Yolanda|date= 8 June 2010|work=BBC|language= es}}