Thor Halvorssen Hellum

Thor Halvorssen Hellum (, May 16, 1943 – July 20, 2014) was a Venezuelan-Norwegian businessman who was CEO and President of the Venezuelan state-owned telephone company CANTV, and later was "special commissioner for international narcotic affairs" in the administration of President Carlos Andrés Pérez, holding the rank of Ambassador. While investigating links to money laundering and drug trafficking, he was detained after a terrorist attack, and was later cleared of any involvement. After his release, Halvorssen moved with his family to Miami, where he lived until his death.

Early life and education Halvorssen, of Norwegian descent, is one of the four sons of a Norwegian businessman, Øystein Halvorssen. His father became the president of GMAC (now Ally Financial) in Venezuela before he began his own business operations, and also was the Norwegian Crown's consul-general in Caracas from 1938. According to the journalist Gaeton Fonzi, who wrote an investigative story about Halvorssen's life, he led the "jet-setting life style" of a "happy-go-lucky" son of a wealthy businessman. While the head of CANTV, Halvorssen became more involved with the National Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services (DISIP).

Special commissioner on anti-narcotic affairs When President Pérez was elected President again in 1989, he named Halvorssen Venezuela's "special commissioner for international narcotic affairs" with the rank of ambassador. One of the alleged members of the group of bombers, Ramiro Helmeyer, told police that Halvorssen was the leader of the conspiracy. Helmeyer later recanted his confession, telling journalists that the police "tortured me so that I would accuse Thor Halvorssen". During his time in prison, when there was an all out media campaign against him, Halvorssen was supported by the New York District Attorney Robert Morgenthau who praised his efforts as someone who provided assistance to his office in the fight against the international narcotics business, as well as to federal law enforcement officials of the United States.

In GQ magazine, Isabel Hilton also covers Halvorssen's investigation of Orlando Castro Llanes. Hilton states that Castro was involved in arranging the false arrest of Halvorssen and the media campaign to destroy his reputation. According to Halvorssen, 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 remains questioned. They are still fugitives. Depositors lost billions of dollars. Orlando Castro Llanes fled Venezuela and was ultimately extradited from Miami to New York to face charges of grand larceny and theft.

Castro's own banks also collapsed leaving depositors unable to recuperate their savings. On April 4, 1996, Castro was indicted in New York by District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. Castro's son and grandson were also arrested on charges of a scheme to defraud in the first degree. They were also under investigation by the US Federal Reserve for laundering more than US$3 billion. The three Castros were convicted on grand larceny charges on February 19, 1997, and in April of that year sentenced to various prison terms.

Charles Intriago—attorney for Orlando Castro and former federal prosecutor, as well as editor of Money Laundering Alert, the newsletter financed by Orlando Castro, and the well-known host of a biennial national money-laundering conference that attracts justice and law enforcement authorities, came to Castro Llanes’ defense and countered that Halvorssen ran a "smear campaign" and fed lies to US officials. It was later disclosed that Money Laundering Alert had received its seed money from Castro. Intriago's activities came under investigation of the House Government Reform Committee where he repeatedly plead the Fifth Amendment when asked about his involvement with Castro and his own illegal campaign contributions to the re-election campaign of President Bill Clinton. He was convicted and sent to El Junquito prison.

Movie rights New York film producer Marla Shelton purchased the rights to Halvorssen's life story while working for Academy-Award winning director James Ivory of Merchant Ivory Productions. The script titled "Smoke and Mirrors" was written for the screen by Venezuelan architect and author Alex Ceppi. Bestselling British investigative author David Yallop wrote a novel, Unholy Alliance, that included the story of his own involvement in Halvorssen's case.

Personal life Thor Halvorssen married Hilda Margarita Mendoza (daughter of Eduardo Mendoza Goiticoa and aunt of Leopoldo López) for the first time, with whom he had three children: Eduardo Leonard, Thor Halvorssen (human rights activist) and Randi. He remarried Nelly Yánez. Halvorssen had three brothers: Stein, Erik, and Olaf. He assisted with building sports facilities in the poorest barrios with a focus on baseball.

He became interested in human rights work in the 1980s, providing financial support for victims of human rights violations in Central America that had been ignored during the proxy conflicts of the Cold War by co-founding the Caracas-based Romulo Gallegos human rights organization from where he took up the causes of Nicaragua’s Miskito and focused on violations of human rights by Marxist rebel groups throughout Central American and Colombia. Halvorssen participated in the creation and financing of the “alternative human right forums” that began in Geneva in the early 1990s. Halvorssen served on the boards of the Andrei Sakharov Institute and headed the Pan-American committee of the International Society for Human Rights.

Death Halvorssen Hellum died on July 20, 2014, due to a head injury suffered after a fall at his Miami home.