Venezuela is currently at the heat of a strongly disputed Presidential election following the declaration of Nicolas Maduro as the winner of the election, returning him to office for a third term.
An election which both opposition camps and large number of the country people described as fraudulent.
Venezuelans have since taken to the streets across the country to register their displeasure with the outcome of the election. Of which the government has equally deployed large number of security agents to confront the demonstrators.
Be that as it may, Nicolas Maduro has always been a controversial figure, including being alleged to be involved in the trafficking of cocaine into the United States of America at one point, hence resulting in a fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) bounty being placed as a reward for information leading to his arrest and prosecution.
In March 2020, while Nicolas Maduro was still doing his second tenure as Venezuelan President, the U.S. State Department announced a reward of $15M just for information that will lead to his arrest and his conviction.
This came as the U.S Justice Department announced charged against him and others, bothering on narco-terrorism, which is the shipping of cocaine into the United States simply to wage health war on US citizens.
In November 2015, two of Nicolas Maduro’s nephews were reportedly arrested by the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration for illegal distribution of cocaine. And they were equally reported to have been traveling with diplomatic passports during the arrest. Though they were eventually freed in 2022 as part of a deal for prisoner swap for seven Americans jailed in Venezuela.
Meanwhile, earlier in November 2016, two nephews of Nicolas Maduro’s wife, identified as Efraín Antonio Campo Flores and Francisco Flores de Freitas, were found guilty in a US court. Bothering on conspiracy to import cocaine.
Wikipedia said funds from the trafficking could possibly be used to sustain the family in power (funding his presidential elections and more).
And more indictment for them is the fact that same source reported that according to an unnamed informant, those his wife’s nephews often uses the terminal 4 of the Simon Bolivar Airport for their travels, which is officially reserved for the president alone.
(Antonio Campo Flores and Francisco Flores de Freitas after their arrest by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration on 10 November 2015)
Mr. Tareck El Aissami who served as Maduro’s vice president between 2017 – 2018 is equally under the sanctions of the United States for drug trafficking and aiding state sponsored terrorism. Also linked with some Illicit organizations the Cartel of the Suns, Los Zetas, others
Nicolas Maduro, born November 23, 1962, has been in power as the President of Republic of Venezuela since 2013, and was reelected for a third term few days ago.
(protesters after Maduro was declared of this year’s presidential election few days ago)
Photo Credit: (Al Jazeera, BBC and Google)
