Yet another confidential Venezuelan witness who served as the head of security for former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for 13 years has come forward to testify how machines developed by Smartmatic with support from the Venezuelan government have been used to steal elections around the globe. In a sworn deposition in support of the defense of former Mesa County, CO Clerk Tina Peters, the witness provides a detailed, firsthand account of an alleged conspiracy originating with President Chavez to create and deploy a sophisticated vote-manipulation system to ensure electoral victories.
The witness attests to being present at secret meetings, demonstrations of the vote-changing software, and a pivotal 2013 Venezuelan presidential election. During this election, the witness claims to have been inside a “secret room” with high-level officials as they monitored real-time results, observed their candidate losing by two million votes, and subsequently gave the order to manipulate the outcome. The witness describes watching on monitors as the vote totals were altered state-by-state after the national internet was cut, resulting in a victory for the government’s candidate.
Key Individuals and Organizations
Entity / Individual | Role / Affiliation | Alleged Involvement |
Hugo Chavez Frias | President of Venezuela | Mastermind of the conspiracy; ordered the software’s creation, authorized funding, and directed the project’s international scope. |
Smartmatic | Election technology company (described by witness as “fake”) | Contracted to develop and implement the vote-manipulation software. |
Pinate, Mugica, Anzola | Founders of Smartmatic | Attended secret meetings with Chavez, received the mandate and funding guarantee. Antonio Mugica was allegedly in contact during the 2013 election manipulation. |
CNE | Consejo Nacional Electoral (Venezuela’s national election authority) | Provided official cover for the system; its president was a key figure in the conspiracy. |
Jorge Rodriguez | President of the CNE / Mayor of Caracas | Acted as Chavez’s “right hand” in the project; present in secret meetings, managed the system with Smartmatic, and was a key decision-maker in the 2013 election. |
PDVSA | Petroleo de Venezuela (State Oil Company) | The source of funds used to pay Smartmatic. |
Raphael Ramirez | Minister of Energy | Instructed by Chavez to execute the payments from PDVSA to Smartmatic. |
Diosdado Cabello | President of the National Assembly | Present in the “secret room” during the 2013 election; a key decision-maker in ordering the vote manipulation. |
Financial Arrangements and Secret Meetings
- Initial Funding: President Chavez verbally guaranteed $100 million in U.S. dollars to the Smartmatic founders. He stated this amount would increase as needed to perfect the software.
- Payment Authorization: The witness was present when Chavez ordered Raphael Ramirez to make payments from PDVSA but did not witness the transactions themselves.
- Meeting Locations: A series of four secret meetings reportedly took place every 15 days over a four-month period. These meetings were held in a secure bunker located at the international ramp of the Maiquetia International Airport.
Case Study: The 2013 Venezuelan Presidential Election
The witness provides a detailed account of observing the manipulation of the 2013 election between Nicolas Maduro and Capriles Radonski.
- The “Secret Room”: The operation was allegedly conducted from a hidden room within the Caracas mayor’s office, where Jorge Rodriguez was mayor. The room contained monitors displaying real-time, state-by-state results and the Smartmatic operating system platform used to alter the votes.
- The Trigger: By 10:00 AM on election day, opposition candidate Radonski was leading government candidate Maduro by 2 million votes.
- The Decision: Upon realizing they were losing, Diosdado Cabello, Jorge Rodriguez, and Jorge Arreaza decided to activate the software. They telephoned Nicolas Maduro to inform him of the decision.
- Execution:
- Jorge Rodriguez allegedly telephoned Antonio Mugica of Smartmatic to inform him they “had to do a change that instant.”
- An order was given to cut off the internet across the entire country.
- From the secret room, the witness watched in real-time on the monitors as operators “start to change the vote” and “inflate the votes for Nicolas Maduro’s over Capriles Radonski.”
- The manipulation continued for approximately four hours.
- Once they were certain of victory, the internet was turned back on.
- The Result: The final official result was a victory for Nicolas Maduro by 200,000 votes, a total swing of over 2.2 million votes from the morning’s tally.
Alleged International Dimensions and Foreign Involvement
The witness claims the project’s scope extended far beyond Venezuela.
- The “Bolivarian Project”: Chavez’s stated goal was to use the Smartmatic software to install allied presidents throughout Latin America and eventually “place a president in the United States as well.”
- Alleged Placements: The witness cited Evo Morales (Bolivia), Cristina Kirchner (Argentina), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), and Petro (Colombia) as presidents installed with the help of Smartmatic.
- Foreign State Involvement:
- China: Chavez ordered the voting machines to be manufactured in designated Chinese factories.
- Iran & Serbia: Chavez mentioned these countries could provide technical support for vote transmission operations if problems arose.
- Corporate Connections: The witness claims Smartmatic bought a company called Sequoia, which was related to U.S. elections, but later resold it. The witness also stated Smartmatic has “direct relations with Dominion.”
- Alleged U.S. Political Connections: Chavez frequently mentioned having “very good friends in the Congress of the United States Democrats,” specifically referring to congressmen and senators who would visit Venezuela.
Witness Interactions with U.S. Government Agencies
The witness details a long and frustrating history of attempting to share this information with U.S. authorities.
- Initial Attempts (2015-2016): After arriving in the U.S. under DEA protection, the witness repeatedly tried to inform the agency about election manipulation in Venezuela. He was told they “did not care about that information” and should focus only on drug-related topics.
- 2020 U.S. Election: The witness observed the 2020 election between Trump and Biden and concluded “the same thing happened” as in Venezuela, citing the interruption of counting and subsequent change in results. He provided a sworn affidavit on the matter.
- DEA Reaction: Following the release of his 2020 affidavit, the witness was called by a DEA agent, Sandario Gonzalez, who was “very mad” and “prohibited” him from talking about the presidential election.
- First Substantive Interview: The witness states he was not formally interviewed by any U.S. government agency about the alleged election manipulation until July 15, 2025, when he met with the FBI. This was nearly a decade after his first attempts to provide the information.
Summary
In a sworn deposition, a witness identified as the former head of security for Hugo Chavez alleged that the Venezuelan president commissioned Smartmatic to create software designed to guarantee election victories in exchange for over $100 million. The witness described a specific instance of fraud during the 2013 election, claiming to have observed officials in a secret room cut the internet to manipulate vote tallies in real-time when the opposition candidate was winning. Furthermore, the witness testified that Chavez’s long-term goal was to export this system to the United States and noted that the voting machines were manufactured in China.