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Inside the $800K Suitcase Scandal

A wealthy Miami man implicates Hugo Chavez in an embarrassing cover-up

By Jim O'Neill,  Newser User

Posted Jan 10, 2008 6:29 PM CST
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(Newser) – At the center of an international scandal linking Argentina, Venezuela, and a suitcase filled with nearly $800,000 in cash is a rotund dual US-Venezuelan citizen who lives in a million-dollar Miami condo and has a fondness for fancy watches and fast cars. Bloomberg takes a closer look at the bizarre case of Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson and five of his associates charged in a cover-up.

Since he was caught with the cash in August—money the US says was a payoff from Hugo Chavez to the campaign of Argentinian presidential candidate Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner—Antonini has cooperated with the FBI. His conversations, at pricey dinners and secret meetings, have led to the indictments of the men the US says acted on behalf of Chavez to hide his involvement with the payoff.

In this picture released by Government Palace, Argentina's outgoing president Nestor Kirchner, right, waves to supporters accompanied by his wife, President-elect Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, during a ceremony in Rawson, Argentina, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2007. (AP Photo/Government Palace)
In this picture released by Government Palace, Argentina's outgoing president Nestor Kirchner, right, waves to supporters accompanied by his wife, President-elect Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, during...   (Associated Press)
In this photo released by Miraflores Press Office, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez displays a bill of his country's new currency during his weekly radio and television show Hello President in Caracas, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008. (AP Photo/Miraflores Press Office)
In this photo released by Miraflores Press Office, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez displays a bill of his country's new currency during his weekly radio and television show "Hello President" in Caracas,...   (Associated Press)
Venezuelan businessman Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson is seen in Montevideo, Uruguay, in this Sept. 2006 photo. The U.S.-based bussinesman triggered an international scandal by bringing $800,000 in undeclared cash into Argentina on Aug. 4, 2007.(AP Photo/str)
Venezuelan businessman Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson is seen in Montevideo, Uruguay, in this Sept. 2006 photo. The U.S.-based bussinesman triggered an international scandal by bringing $800,000 in undeclared...   (Associated Press)
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Two plead innocent in suitcase affair
Reuters

"Suitcase girl" finds stardom beckons
Wall Street Journal

Argentine Leader Faults U.S. on Inquiry
New York Times

World • US

 
Venezuela • Miami • Argentina • Nestor Kirchner • Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner • Hugo Chávez

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