Playboy Magazine South Africa November 2013 November 2013 | Page 40

FEATURE INSIDE EL RODEO
offered up her own possessions and begged
for him not to kill her. The motorizado was offended. “We have principles in Venezuela,” he
said. “We never rob the customers.”
Through Jhonny, Tim hoped to gain a greater
understanding of how 8 million people could
have voted for a guy who, over 14 years, had
squandered billions and left the country with
one of the highest homicide rates in the world.
Tim’s identity was now inextricably tied up in
the movie. He was spending his modest trust
fund on it, and he decided to stay in the country after his first and second arrests. In both
instances, he got pinched for filming images
that were off-limits – first a sniper on a roof at
a Chávez rally in October 2012, then the presidential palace in February 2013. In both cases
he was released after three days, following
some interrogation and a lot of sitting around.
The police, it seemed, were far less threatening
than the dwellers of the barrios where Tim was
spending his days and nights.
Early in 2013, as Tim continued to shoot 1
footage, events in Venezuela took a turn for the
worse. On 5 March the charismatic president
Hugo Chávez succumbed to cancer, leaving
Nicolás Maduro – a former bus driver who had
risen through the ranks to become Chávez’s
vice president and handpicked successor – to
run things. Maduro had none of his mentor’s
extraordinary charisma. Despite having more
oil reserves than Saudi Arabia, Venezuela was
in shambles. Maduro was losing control. In
order to buy himself more time, he’d need to
manufacture a distraction.

24 April 2013
Tim awoke after having spent the night with
two senoritas, which explains why he missed
a morning flight out of Caracas. He had two
birthdays to attend in the US: his dad’s 80th in
Michigan and his close friend Sasha Bushnell’s
30th, which he’d be hosting in Laurel Canyon.
To assure maximum awesomeness, he had gotten a friend to reinforce his chandelier to safely
hold the swinging weight of “one full-grown
male and one petite female.”
He booked himself on the next flight out. As
soon as he got through immigration at Simón
Bolívar International Airport, he was suddenly
surrounded by a group of armed commandos, who had been waiting for him. He was
handcuffed and led downstairs to a detention

center. At this point he was more
annoyed than frightened – he’d
been through this before – but
something felt off. There were
a lot more guns in the room,
and his every movement
was monitored. Now they
were fucking with his
travel. He thought he
could talk his way out
of it.
“I’ve got a 3:00pm
flight that I don’t think
you want me to miss,” Tim
explained with exaggerated
self-importance.
“No big deal,” the supervising commando responded with
a smile. “If you miss the flight
we’ll just put you on a private plane
and send you back.”
That’s when Tim knew something was really
wrong. There was no way they were going to
put him on a private plane.
He was right. That night Tim was transferred
to Helicoide, a massive, pyramid-shaped
structure in central Caracas that served as the
headquarters for SEBIN. Upon arrival he was
whisked into an interrogation room, where
Elvis Ramírez – the director of Helicoide –
went at him hard with accusations that he was
CIA. Tim denied everything, but Ramírez could
not have cared less. The next day, Maduro and
Interior Minister Rodríguez Torres went on a
public-relations offensive, accusin rF?????fP?Eb?b?VF??rF?R&??6???V7F?????Gv?F?2gFW"??2'&W7B?F??v2G&?7?'FVB??6??f???b#fV??6?W26?VBv?F??7V6???f?&6W26??F?W'2F???F?W"&?6???V ?F?R?'?'Bf?"6??vR??b?fV?VR?V&??r??v???R?Rv?FVB?&?6??W'2??F?RF?6V?@?6V??2&Vv???'&?g???r6??C?( ????F?Rw&??v??????F?Rw&??v?( ?F?R6???"G&??VBg&??F??( ?0?f6R??B?R&Vv?F?6??R?v?V??Rv0???F?R&'&??2f????rF?R6?f?7F2??Rv?V?@??gFV??V"??27V&?V7G2'&?BF?R'7W&B?W0?6?:fW??BfVBF?V?&?WBF?R6?F???@?v???'&?F?Bv2F?RV??FVB7FFW2?F???@???6???Rf?"F?B'&?B?b?6??f?&?F???( ?vV????rF?R??????B?( ?F?R??????B?@???7B6W'F???&VV?vV??VB???R6??????v??RF?R6??6?v?V?F?P????R&?r??F?R???R?bF??G&7?( ?2&V?G0?&6???w&?76R???FRf&?2?f????v??rF?P????F??vfR?b?Ww2&W?'G2?f???Bg&?V?G0?6??6VB&??2??F?RGf?6R?bF??( ?2fV?W?VV???GF?&?W??F??V?&?6?W2?v??v2??F??p?( ?&6??6???V?( ??Vv?F?F???2?B7WW'f?6??p???27&????FVfV?6R?6??F7Bv?F?F?R&W70?v2&???&?FVBf?"fV"?b&?f????r?GW&???v???B&VV?F?V&??rF?v?????2?F??W&?6??6???6???gFW"F??( ?2??6&6W&F????&W6?FV?@?C????$???4??????&?vV?B??&V6?&BF?6?F?BF?R6?&vW0?v??7BF??vW&R( ?&?F?7V??W2?( ??GW&?&W7??FVB'?6???r?&?( ?F?Rw&?B6??V`??bFWf??2?( ??&?( ?26???V?B?F?( ?BF??RF????ff?'2?'WB?GW&?( ?27&??&W??W'FVBF?P???FW&?F????6???V??G?F?BF??( ?2'&W7Bv0???F???r'WB7???6????'?FW7W&FR&W6?FV?Bv??v?V?B&W6?'BF???F???rF?6??&RW?7W?'B????F?W"v?&G2?F??v26?V&?????6V?B??Rv2??7???GW&??B??Wf?FV?6P?v?G6?WfW"?'WB?RF?F?( ?B6&R???GW&?( ?2&Vv??Rv2??6??r?vW"'?F?P?F??'?'&W7F??rF????Rv2F???rvP??WB?b??2?V?F?.( ?2??&????v?V???G&?V&?R??V??FRF?R&6Rv??7B6?????V?V?( 0?6?F?7B?&W76?'2?F?fW'BGFV?F???v??g&??F??W7F?2GW&????'?&W7W'&V7F??rF?R?w&P??bF?RU2?BW7F&?6???rF?&V7B6???V7F????&WGvVV?F?RU2?BF?R??6?F?????GW&??v2?'G&???r??2F???7G&F???26&?P?FVfV?FW'2?b?F????6V7W&?G?BF??Rv?V??6?f??v"v2??????r??RF?7F??7B?76?&??G???f&??W2( ?g&VRF??G&7?( ???fV?V?G2v?BV?FW"v?( 2g&??'V??'2?b?W&?6?6V?V'&?F?W0???6?VF??r??fW"7F??R?B6V?V??W'6????FW?F??r?GW&?F?6???GFVBVff?'B'??&WF?&VB6??w&W76??&???FV??V?B?v??GW&??p???2B?V'2??6?F??????v2???v?2F?P????U2??F?6????v??BFW&?2v?F?6?:fW???FV??V?Bv?B??&?&Bv?F?F??( ?26W6RF???0?F?F?RVff?'G2?bF??( ?2'&?F?W"G&??v???@????B?'f&B'VFG?v??6Rf????WrF?P?f?&?W"F????B???V?v???R?F?R6?GVF?????fV?W?VV?6??F??VVBF?V?&fV??F?RvVV?gFW"F??( ?2'&W7B??v??Bf?7Ff?v?B'&??R?WB??&??V?B&WGvVV??7W?'FW'2?b?GW&??BF?R??6?F??????Vf??r?V???7V?G2&???F?VB?B''V?6VB??F?&VRvVV?2?FW"?F?R&W6?FV?Bv2?V??FV@?v?V?&V6?&F??r?b6??fW'6F???&WGvVV??7V&???FV??vV?6R?ff?6W"?B?&??6??f?F?P?'W6???&Vv??bF?R6?f?7F2??fV?V?B??v2?V?VBF?F?R&W72?6??f( ?2??????Bv0???