Venezuela authorities lash out at report over narco-ties

Venezuelan authorities Tuesday began reacting to reports that Leamsy Salazar, a high-ranking bodyguard to National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello, was under U.S. protection and ready to finger his boss as the head of a drug cartel. “Every attack against me strengthens my spirit and resolve,” Cabello wrote in a series of Tweets Tuesday. “We’ve faced threats, infamy and intrigue during these years of Revolution.” The reaction comes after El Nuevo Herald and Spain’s ABC, citing anonymous sources, said Salazar had been brought to Washington, D.C. Monday as a star witness in building a case against the Venezuelan government. More …