Thor Halvorssen Hellum - Arrest and Imprisonment

Arrest and Imprisonment

In 1993, while Halvorssen claimed he was investigating the now defunct Banco Latino, he was arrested and imprisoned for 74 days on charges of terrorism that a Venezuelan congressman described at the time as a "set up because he was investigating Medellín Cartel finances and links to Venezuelan businessmen and officials." Halvorssen was one of 12 people charged in a series of six bomb attacks in Caracas in July and August 1993. Police claimed the motive was profit—to capitalize on stock market fluctuations caused by the bombs. Halvorssen denied the charges and claimed he had made no stock or bond transactions in the Venezuelan stock market for two decades.

One of the alleged members of the group of bombers, Ramiro Helmeyer, told police that Halvorssen was the leader. Helmeyer, initially recanted his confession claiming that the police "tortured me so that I would accuse Thor Halvorssen." However, in February 1998, Helmeyer said the bombing campaign was financed by the Banco Latino by way of its president Gustavo Gómez López and that Halvorssen was the key organizer. Helmeyer was a relative of the family that founded the Banco Latino. Halvorssen says he was arrested after a Banco Latino official asked him to come to Venezuela from New York for a meeting with the bank's chairman, but after arriving in Caracas that meeting was cancelled, implying that he was set up.

Halvorssen was held without being charged for eight days. By the time he was released he had still not been charged with a crime—the only thing that kept him in prison was an order of arrest signed eight days after his actual detention. He was beaten while he was in police prison and suffered from mistreatment while in the notorious Retén de Catia prison, ranked among the most desolate prisons in the world by human-rights organisations. International organizations, including Amnesty International, a Nicaraguan cardinal, and members of the British Parliament, protested Halvorssen case. He was found innocent of all charges. After his release, the United Nations-affiliated International Society for Human Rights appointed him director of their Pan-American Committee.

Hilton also covers Halvorssen's investigation of Orlando Castro Llanes, a Venezuelan businessman of Cuban descent. She suggests that Castro arranged for the false charges against Halvorssen and a media campaign to destroy his reputation. According to Hilton, Castro was linked as a money laundering partner to drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in a letter written by Escobar to his attorney; the authenticity of the letter is questioned. Castro had visited Halvorssen in prison with his son who beat Halvorssen while he was handcuffed to a chair. Wire reports and newspaper articles written during his time in prison portrayed Halvorssen as guilty and corrupt. A framework of opinion was created to destroy any credibility Halvorssen could have when testifying in a court of law in the United States. Regarding the charges of terrorism she writes: "In reality, the police case against Halvorssen was non-existent…He was completely exonerated."

Investigative journalist Manuel Malaver in his book La DEA contra la Guardia Nacional de Venezuela claims that Halvorssen was part of parallel underworld of rogue police officers that became involved in a conspiracy to destabilize the government of Ramón J. Velásquez in association with a group of powerful adversaries against the possible presidency of Rafael Caldera or Andrés Velásquez. Presidential elections were scheduled in December 1993 after the impeachment of President Perez in May 1993. Halvorssen publicly responded to Malaver in a 3,500 word point-by-point rebuttal. Halvorssen referred to Malaver as acting in bad faith, malicious, and violating journalistic ethics: "Lamentable, shameful, and cowardly."