After the inspection in mid-April, and the necessary in-depth analysis on a series of passports and related citizenship issues, the Farnesina urgently recalls the Consul General of Caracas Nicola Occhipinti. It will leave on Sunday in one way: Italy. A sign that further clarifications are needed directly from which our diplomatic representation in Venezuela guides.
The objective of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the ministry itself explained in a note in recent days following the investigation by , is «to ensure the correct management of administrative and consular practices, in particular the regularity of procedures linked to the recognition of Italian citizenships”. Precisely what was reported by Fratelli d’Italia deputy Andrea Di Giuseppe in a complaint dated January 9th. The investigations that the Farnesina is conducting, together with the Police, the Carabinieri and the Financial Police, “on numerous administrative files and documents, and the final reports of the inspection delegation, will as usual be made available to the competent authorities”. Translated: if alleged crimes were to emerge, the Public Prosecutor’s Office will take action.
Occhipinti, head of the diplomatic headquarters in Caracas, in March 2023, heard by ANSA, described the activity carried out in Venezuela in this way: it is considered “the best consulate in the world”, where “productivity is monstrous, all appointments are made via email with responses within 24 hours and the passport renewal in Caracas is done in three days, while within the country it is done in 15 days without having to come to the capital”.
Now the consul will certainly have to explain to the inspectors how quickly and following which checks the Italian citizenships by descent, on which suspicions of fraud hover, were issued. Suffice it to say that from January to April alone there would be around seven thousand new documents released. Meanwhile, Farnesina inspectors are also focusing on other Latin American countries, in particular Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. It is precisely this last country that has come under particular scrutiny.
Just in recent days the Consul added to Sao Paulo, Livia Satullo, explained how this diplomatic headquarters is destined to become the largest Consulate General of Italy in the world, surpassing in terms of resident Italian population those of Buenos Aires and London, which they currently hold the record. Its offices operate at a rate of around 170 passports issued daily and in 2023 a record of 34 thousand passports issued was set. But controls must always be kept at the highest possible level. On the other hand, how can we forget what happened in 2017, with the scandal of the 300 Brazilian citizens, including footballers playing in the top divisions of the Italian, French and Portuguese championships, who had obtained Italian citizenship by virtue of the “ius sanguinis”, but without meet the requirements established by law.
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2024-05-11 16:47:42
