Public Ministry Opens Probe After Partiers Damage Famous Tepui in Canaima National Park
This Thursday, February 10, Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab instructed the 87th National Environmental Defense Office to investigate damages caused in the Canaima National Park, after a private party was held at Kusari Tepui.
The location is home to natural wonders including tepuis, the famous flat-topped or “table-top” mountains, and Angel Falls, the highest uninterrupted waterfall in the world. The tepuis are considered as sacred grounds of the Pemon Indigenous people.
The information regarding the probe was released by the Attorney General of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, on his Twitter account.
El Ministerio PĂşblico comisionĂł a la FiscalĂa 87 Nac en Defensa #Ambiental: para #investigar los daños causados al parque nacional Canaima (Tepuy KUSARI) como consecuencia de una “fiesta” organizada en dicho lugar por una empresa y un grupo de personas pic.twitter.com/OylLM33ZXT
— Tarek William Saab (@TarekWiliamSaab) February 10, 2022
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Wild party at Kusari Tepui
This week an anti-Chavista NGO, the SOS Orinoco organization, denounced that a private overnight party was held to celebrate the 50th birthday of Rafael Oliveros, director of Grupo La Marea and general director of Camp Canaima, last Friday February 4. The party was held at the top of Kusari Tepui (Cerro Venado), according to the report published on the NGO’s website. The tepui is right in front of the iconic Canaima Laguna.
Among the many socialites in attendance, Osmel Souza, Titina Penzini, and Aura Marina Hernandez shared images of the party on their social media accounts.
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In the complaint, the environmental organization wrote that at least nine helicopter flights transported the guests, picking them up between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Saturday February 5.
The guest Osmel Souza, on his social media accounts, posted photos of the temporary camp that was set up for the party. Each tent was equipped with personalized pajamas, wrote Souza.
Chavistas or the usual escualidos?
Since the beginning of the social media uproar, Venezuelan anti-Chavista media and influencers blamed “enchufados” (new businesspeople with connections to Chavismo) for the controversial party, due to the fact that entrepreneur Rafael Oliveros was appointed in 2016 as a representative of the tourist sector on a committee to strengthen the industry. At one time, Oliveros was alleged to be friends with Diosdado Cabello’s wife and former minister for tourism, Marleny Contreras.
Meanwhile, Venezuelans who follow the party’s attendees were left wondering how right wingers could be accusing Chavistas, as most of the partygoers are Venezuelan socialites well known in right-wing social circles for years, such as Souza, Penzini, Hernandez, Salomon Mucci, Carlos Valedon, or Alejandra Azpurua de Leret, among others.
“What makes me laugh the most is that they pretend to call them ‘Chavistas,'” wrote Venezuelan journalist Érika Ortega Sanoja. “Even Titina Penzini was in one of the photos. Please!” Titina Penzini is the senior contributing editor of HOLA! USA, a celebrity magazine based in Spain.
Lo que me da más risa es que pretendan llamarlas “chavistas”. Hasta Titina Penzini andaba en una de las fotos. Parfavar… https://t.co/ZHOAvvoMgB
— Érika Ortega Sanoja (@ErikaOSanoja) February 10, 2022
In addition, within 24 hours the authorities opened an investigation to determine responsibility for the events, providing more evidence that no one will evade justice when laws are broken in Venezuela.
Featured image: Some of the attendees of the extravagant and very unusual party at the top of a tepui in Canaima National Park. Photo: Twitter.
(Ăšltimas Noticias) by Ariadne Eljuri, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
