Former Venezuelan mayor turns himself in for a major corruption case in Miami

Former Venezuelan mayor, an ally of the late President Hugo Chávez, turned himself in to Miami authorities at the end of April for a major corruption case involving crude oil projects with foreign businesses.

Jhonnathan Marín was mayor of the port city of Guanta in 2017 when he surprisingly resigned to flee Venezuela amid a major purge at state oil company PDVSA. Nicolás Maduro's regime ordered his arrest on corruption charges and banned him from running for public office.

He was believed to be living in Mexico, but made his first appearance in Miami on April 25 of 2022, when he turned himself in to authorities. He was released the same day after posting $100,000 bail, according to court documents cited by the Associated Press.

Marin was charged with "conspiracy to commit a crime against the United States," for which he could receive a maximum sentence of 5 years.

The former Venezuelan mayor allegedly helped an unknown businessman to pay bribes in exchange for million-dollar contracts with PDVSA, in joint projects with other oil companies such as Crevron, France's Total, and companies from China and Russia. Between 2015 and 2018, he would help transfer 1.2 million from a bank account in Miami to one in Panama to benefit two unidentified Venezuelan officials.

Marín, 43, began his political career in 2002 in the Movimiento Quinta República (MVR) party. In 2017, he transferred to the newly created United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), in which he participated in primary elections and became the candidate for Mayor of Guanta in 2008.

Its victory was important for Nicolas Maduro’s government, as it is the city with the most important port in eastern Venezuela. Guanta is home to the world's largest oil reserves and approximately half of Venezuela's current production, according to Voice of America.

"I recognize that I had at the beginning the fault of the impetus proper to age; nevertheless, the attacks against me continued without respite and without reason that I understood. From these troubled origins, I continue to be a victim even in the present, and of the same factors, but with better camouflage. What was my mistake? To transform a municipality abandoned to its fate, sunk in backwardness, criminality, and the negligence of municipal and even regional authorities," Marin wrote on his Instagram account days before his resignation.

Marín is represented by Michael Nadler, a former Miami federal prosecutor who gained popularity for fighting corruption in Maduro's inner circle. Nadler declined to comment, but in the past Marin has said the charges brought by Maduro's allies are a political vendetta based on falsified evidence.

"We have nothing to hide," he said in a video posted on social media in 2019. "Quite the contrary, we have many things to say and this opens a window to the future. It will give us a great opportunity to say many things."