A business connection between Caracas and Mexico City is once again raising suspicions. Altagracia Gómez Sierra, heiress of the Minsa group and current economic advisor to the federal government, has been accused of taking advantage of authoritarian regimes to benefit her family business. First in Venezuela, through the controversial CLAP boxes; now in Mexico, through multimillion-dollar contracts with Segalmex, DICONSA, and other social programs.
The Local Supply and Production Committees (CLAP), created by Nicolás Maduro's regime, were presented as a program to fight hunger. However, Transparencia Venezuela has documented that the CLAP program is a mechanism of structural corruption. They point to overpricing, poor-quality products, and the political use of food to control the population.
The Mexican connection with Chavismo's food boxes
Investigations by Armando.info documented how the Venezuelan regime operated through intermediaries—such as Alex Saab and Álvaro Pulido—to acquire products in Mexico. Among the Mexican companies involved, El Sardinero stands out, which managed to export almost 100,000 metric tons (220,462,000 pounds) of food to Venezuela in just six months.
El Sardinero did not manufacture everything; instead, it assembled the packages by purchasing products from various brands, including Minsa. Reports and testimonies on social media show that Minsa products reached the CLAP boxes. This links the Gómez family to a program denounced for its opacity and political use.
In November 2024, Altagracia Gómez was appointed president of the Business Advisory Council of the federal government for economic development issues. At the same time, she continues as president of the Board of Directors of Minsa, one of the main suppliers of corn flour to the government.
