Monday, March 13, 2017

Drugs trial exposes high-echelon corruption in Venezuela


The story that emerged during their nine-day trial was jaw-dropping. Flores and Campo are the nephews of Cilia Flores, the wife of President Maduro and a politician in her own right. According to trial testimony, they were planning to move cocaine for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) through Venezuela via the president’s private hangar at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas. They expected the deal to bring them as much as $11 million, some of which was to be used to help fund Cilia Flores’ re-election campaign. The story of how her nephews came to be arrested, tried and convicted illuminates dark corners of “official” involvement in the illegal drug trade in Venezuela -- raising serious questions about the nexus of crime, law enforcement and government in that country. More….

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