Joesley Batista, one of the founders of the giant JBS, is moving discreetly to act as an interlocutor in an attempt to reduce political tensions between the Trump government and the Venezuelan regime.
The businessman was in Caracas last week to try to convince President Nicolás Maduro to heed Donald Trump’s request to step down and pave the way for a peaceful transition, according to people with knowledge of the trip. He met with Maduro on Nov. 23, days after the U.S. president called the Venezuelan leader to urge him to step down from power, according to these people, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Members of the Trump administration knew of Joesley’s plans to go to Caracas and reinforce the presidential message, but he traveled on his own initiative and not at the request of the United States, according to some of the people familiar with the matter.
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“Joesley Batista is not a representative of any government,” said J&F, the Batista family’s holding company, in a statement. The company did not comment further.
The White House did not comment. Neither Venezuela’s Ministry of Information nor Vice President Delcy Rodríguez’s office responded to requests for comment on the visit.
The trip, which was previously unknown, marks the latest attempt to reduce tensions after Trump threatened ground attacks in Venezuela, following months of lethal operations against vessels accused of drug trafficking. The US classifies the Maduro government as illegitimate, accuses the regime of having stolen last year’s election and of facilitating the export of cocaine from Colombia, resulting in the deaths of Americans.
Joesley’s initiative came after the largest deployment of American military forces to Latin American waters in decades and more than 20 US attacks on boats allegedly used in trafficking, near the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia, which left more than 80 people dead. Trump reiterated on Wednesday that ground attacks will begin “very soon.”
“We know all the routes, all the houses, we know where they produce,” Trump said at an event at the White House.
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New interlocutor
Joesley joined other attempts at dialogue, led by names such as American envoy Richard Grenell, diplomats from Qatar and investors from the financial and oil sector with interests in Venezuela. The proposals vary on how long Maduro would remain in office and whether he would accept going into exile, but all seek to avoid an escalation of attacks until now restricted to international waters.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in an interview aired this week, questioned the possibility of the US reaching an agreement with Maduro to curb drug trafficking, stating that the Venezuelan leader has repeatedly broken commitments over the years. Still, Rubio said he considers it worth trying to reach an understanding.
In many aspects, Joesley has the ideal profile to act as a bridge with Maduro. He is a rare figure with good relations with both Trump and the Venezuelan government.
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JBS owns Colorado-based chicken producer Pilgrim’s Pride, which donated $5 million to Trump’s inaugural committee, the largest single contribution. This year, JBS obtained approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC, the “American CVM”) to list its shares in New York, overcoming strong resistance from environmental groups and activist investors because of corruption scandals involving the Batista brothers and accusations of the company’s participation in the deforestation of the Amazon driven by livestock farming.
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Joesley met with Trump at the beginning of the year to defend the removal of tariffs on beef and a detente with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, after friction involving the case against his predecessor and Trump ally, Jair Bolsonaro. JBS is the largest meat supplier in the world and employs more than 70 thousand people in the USA and Canada.
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Batista ties in Venezuela
The Batista family’s ties to Venezuela are at least a decade old. JBS and Maduro years ago negotiated a US$2.1 billion contract to supply meat and chicken to the country amid acute food shortages and hyperinflation. The agreement was made possible by hard-line socialist politician Diosdado Cabello, now Minister of the Interior.
Maduro has governed Venezuela with increasing repression since 2013, facing oil sanctions imposed by Trump in January 2019, during his first term.
J&F has oil production operations in Argentina. The company even evaluated an investment in a Venezuelan joint venture based on assets that belonged to ConocoPhillips and were nationalized in 2007 by Maduro’s predecessor and mentor, Hugo Chávez.
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Who is Joesley Batista
Joesley has become increasingly linked to power circles since he helped transform the butcher shop founded by his father in the 1950s into the largest meat producer in the world, with decisive support from BNDES during previous Lula governments. The company was the largest donor to political campaigns in Brazil in 2014, when Dilma Rousseff was re-elected.
Years later, Joesley admitted to having paid bribes to hundreds of politicians — including former Finance Minister Guido Mantega — in exchange for financing from public banks and pension funds. In 2017, he recorded an off-schedule meeting with President Michel Temer as part of a plea bargain to obtain immunity. The scandal shook the country and triggered one of the biggest stock market crashes in recent history — an episode that became known as “Joesley Day”.
The Trump administration maintained its aggressive strategy towards Venezuela. The day after Batista’s visit to Caracas, the US classified the Cartel de los Soles — a drug trafficking group allegedly led by Maduro and senior Venezuelan officials — as a foreign terrorist organization, increasing pressure.
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