Ex-Chavez Supporter Carmen Porras Invests in South Florida

Less than a month after losing her post as Venezuelan Supreme Court justice, Carmen Porras invested in South Florida real estate.

Porras, who as a former judge and justice was so faithful to the Chavista regime that she pressured her counterparts in the judicial system to rule in line with the government, is tied to at least 10 Florida properties, the Miami Herald reported, based on data obtained by the publication and Venezuelan investigative website Armando.info. Entities affiliated with Porras and her family also purchased at least two properties in Panama.

The revelation is the latest that links ex-Latin American government officials — including many who served and furthered Venezuela’s Socialist regime — to South Florida real estate. Some have been named in massive fraud schemes, and federal authorities have pushed to forfeit and seize their luxury dwellings in Miami-Dade County. For others, no proof exists that the money they used to buy the properties was somehow tainted, leaving only questions.

Porras — who falls into the latter category — and her family members are tied to a house in Tamiami and at least five houses and condos in Doral. The family’s investments date back to at least 2008, years before she was ousted from the Venezulan judiciary in either 2015 or 2016. Entities affiliated with the family continued to make purchases after that, although some of the real estate has been sold.

Altogether, the family’s Florida real estate is valued at $3.2 million.

Porras and her family members didn’t return the Herald’s requests for comment.

— Lidia Dinkova