UN “Human Rights” Chief Tied to Communist Network’s Corruption

Alex Newman

The top United Nations official dealing with “human rights,” Chilean socialist Michelle Bachelet [photo], is embroiled in a massive Latin American corruption scandal involving a powerful international network of communists and crony tycoons. Among other charges, Bachelet was accused of accepting bribe money from a major company during her successful 2013 presidential campaign. The firm in question, meanwhile, was involved in looting taxpayers to finance communist revolution and socialist political candidates across the region. The implications are enormous. Despite her denials, calls for Bachelet to resign her UN post and face justice are growing louder.

Photo: AP

The scandal threatening to engulf the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Bachelet, and even the UN itself, first came to light with the testimony of Leo Pinheiro, the ex-president of Brazilian civil engineering firm OAS. As part of a plea bargain with Brazilian prosecutors, Pinheiro, who was convicted of multiple crimes in 2015, revealed that he had funneled money into Bachelet’s presidential campaign. The money was transferred to the radical Chilean politician-turned UN bigwig on orders from then-Brazilian President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, Pinheiro revealed in his agreement, as first reported by a major Brazilian newspaper known as Folha de São Paulo.

That much has all been reported in the American media, albeit on the back pages of major newspapers. What has not been reported, though, is much more important to understanding the enormity of the scandal. Lula, who ordered that the bribe money be transferred to Bachelet, was one of the founders of the Latin American communist network known as the Foro de São Paulo (FSP, or São Paulo Forum in English). Other co-founders included mass-murdering dictator Fidel Castro, the Marxist narco-terror group known as the FARC in Colombia, and the mass-murdering Sandinistas in Nicaragua. The goal of the FSP, according to its own documents, is to build in Latin America what was lost in Eastern Europe — communist slavery.

The ex-Brazilian president at the center of it all is now in jail for his crimes as Brazil undergoes a counter-revolution. But he will not be the last to end up behind bars.

The Associated Press reported only that “Lula” was jailed as part of a “corruption case that stems from a nationwide investigation that has ensnared many of Brazil’s top businessmen and politicians.” But in reality, “corruption” to fund the lavish lifestyles of the communist elite, while problematic, was only the tip of the iceberg. Far more serious than the looting of taxpayers across Latin America is the fact that the stolen money was being used to spread communism and socialism across the region. Money from Colombian cocaine, Venezuelan oil, and Brazilian state-owned companies and corrupt contractors was being used by the FSP network to bankroll the political campaigns of totalitarians such as Bachelet — a Chilian politician and admirer of the mass-murdering Castro regime who literally defected to the communist slave state ruling East Germany.

After decades of playing defense, conservative forces in Latin America are finally finding their ground in combating the criminal conspiracy seeking to enslave their nations under communism.

In his speech last week at the UN General Assembly, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is leading the fight against the communist conspirators in Brazil, blasted the network. “The São Paulo Forum [Foro de Sao Paulo], a criminal organization created in 1990 by Fidel Castro, Lula and Hugo Chávez to spread and implement socialism in Latin America, is still alive and has to be fought,” he explained, shining light on the dangerous organization that has thrived by remaining obscure and out of the spotlight.

As reported by The New American, the U.S. government has known all about the FSP for many years. But during the Obama administration, U.S. authorities were actively aiding and abetting multiple members of the subversive network. Establishment organizations such as the Council on Foreign Relations, meanwhile, maintained close ties with FSP members. Indeed, CFR Latin America chief Julia Sweig was even described by a U.S. counter-intelligence official as an “agent of influence” for the murderous Cuban dictatorship.

Now, thanks to the infamous “Lava Jato” (Car Wash) investigation in Brazil, however, the whole criminal network is being unraveled. Numerous senior officials and “businesmen” in Brazil and other Latin American nations have already been jailed for their role in the schemes. And now, Bachelet may be the next to go down as authorities in Chile and beyond investigate. Of course, Bachelet denies the charges, falsely telling Chile’s 24 Horas TV channel last week that she “never had any link with OAS or any other company.” Establishment media outlets around the world such as the Associated Press are working desperately to downplay the scandal and to minimize the enormous implications, too.

But the allegations are serious. So serious, in fact, that they have sparked calls by prominent lawmakers and officials in Bachelet’s native Chile for the controversial UN leader to return home to face justice. Leaders from the ruling party in Chile, known as “National Renewal,” for instance, said this was a “really serious situation.” “This same company has been recognized illegally financing politics in numerous countries,” said National Renewal’s Mario Desbordes, who argued that the negotiations for the illegal bribe money from Brazil “must have been carried out at the highest level of the campaign environment.”

Meanwhile, a member of the Chilean commission investigating the OAS role in all of this, Juan Antonio Coloma, warned that the company is known for its corruption and is “dedicated to financing left-wing candidates.” Another major company involved in the mushrooming scandal, Odebrecht, also has a long history of financing socialist and communist politicians and movements. The scheme went like this: The major government contractors formed an alliance, conspired with state-owned firms to fix prices on projects above what they would really cost, then the loot off the top would be recycled back to communist politicians, criminals, “businessmen,” and terrorists involved in the communist network.

Conservative presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast, a longtime Chilean lawmaker, went even further than other Chilean leaders. To start with, he demanded that Bachelet leave her UN job (and the diplomatic immunity it provides) so she can answer to Chilean authorities. “If true, the $100 million OAS paid to Michelle Bachelet would be the biggest corruption scandal that affects a President of Chile in our history,” he said on Twitter. “We have the right and duty to investigate thoroughly. Bachelet has to answer.”

Kast, a popular conservative leader who may become Chile’s next president, said the UN “human rights” boss must come back to Chile promptly. “Michelle Bachelet must resign her position and come to face Chilean justice,” he said in a separate Twitter post. “If the truth is proven, she must be judged and pay for her crimes with jail time, just like all the other Latin American presidents who were bought by OAS.” Aside from Lula, Kast was also referring to late Peruvian president Alan García, another Marxist operative who reportedly killed himself to avoid justice in the case as police surrounded his home.

As of right now, Bachelet can hide in Geneva behind diplomatic immunity. It would hardly be the first time an individual implicated in the growing Latin America corruption scandal would seek to abuse diplomatic immunity to avoid dealing with the justice system. The New American highlighted, among other instances, the abuse of diplomatic immunity privileges by then-UN Food and Agriculture boss José Graziano da Silva, a key operative in the Foro de São Paulo conspiracy and a close ally of jailed former Brazilian “Lula.” He considered giving Lula a job as “special advisor” to shield him from the law.

Graziano, who worked hard to have journalists jailed for exposing his crimes, also gave former Peruvian First Lady Nadine Heredia a job with diplomatic immunity. The goal, it seems, was to protect her from Peruvian prosecutors. Among other crimes, she was charged with major corruption, usurpation of power, and money laundering for her role in helping to funnel some $150 million stolen from Brazilian taxpayers by the Lula regime into her totalitarian husband’s political campaign for president. Graziano has now been replaced at the FAO with another communist, Qu Dongyu of China’s Communist Party. He reportedly secured the job with bribes and threats, according to diplomats cited in the press, ensuring that his predecessor’s criminal activity remains sealed.

While Bachelet has denied the charges and appears to be hoping the scandal will fade, her minions in Chile are rallying around her and doing everything possible to protect her. Radical Party leader Carlos Maldonado, who served as justice minister in Bachelet’s government, for instance, claimed Bachelet was “totally honest” and “is a person who is not interested in money or power.” Right. Maldonado recognized that there would have to be a thorough investigation and that those involved in Bachelet’s campaign would have to account for what happened. However, that is “something that is totally separate from the role of the ex-president.”

With communist criminals at the UN hiding from justice behind diplomatic immunity, it is past time for some major changes. In truth, the immunity was never supposed to be blanket protection from the law. It was supposed to be for legitimate acts carried out in the line of duty. Unless Bachelet’s legitimate duties included participating in a criminal conspiracy involving mass murderers and thieves to fleece the public and enslave Latin America, she should not be allowed to escape accountability. It is time for the U.S. Congress and President Trump to get to the bottom of this too — especially since American taxpayers are subsidizing the whole grotesque spectacle that is the UN. Justice and the liberties of countless millions across Latin America and beyond hang in the balance.

Alex Newman, a foreign correspondent for The New American, regularly attends UN and international summits. He can be reached at anewman@thenewamerican.com or through Liberty Sentinel Media. Follow him on Twitter @ALEXNEWMAN_JOU or on Facebook. 1-10-2019