In the struggle for a change of power in Venezuela, the United States has filed charges against President Maduro for drug dealing. Venezuela reacted promptly and in turn accused opposition leader Guaidó, whom the United States supported.
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Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro is charged in America.
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(afp / dpa) The United States has filed charges against Venezuela’s head of state Nicolás Maduro for “narco-terrorism” and suspended a $ 15 million bounty. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that the reward would be paid for clues that led to the capture and condemnation of the leftist president.
Attorney General William Barr simultaneously announced charges against Maduro and other senior Venezuelan government officials. “The Venezuelan regime is caught up in crime and corruption,” Justice Minister William Barr said Thursday.
The American judicial system has charged Maduro and the co-defendants with conspiring to split off the Colombian farc guerrillas to flood the United States with cocaine. Maduro therefore leads a drug dealer ring with the name “Kartell der Sonnen”. In addition to government officials, the ring would also include Venezuelan military and judicial officials. The group is said to have smuggled hundreds of tons of cocaine.
Venezuela is now investigating Guaidó
In response to the charges against Maduro and several confidants, his government has now launched an investigation into opposition leader and self-appointed interim president Juan Guaidó and some of his fellow campaigners. “The federal prosecutor’s office opened an investigation against Guaidó, Cliver Alcalá and other collaborators for attempted coup d’état against President Maduro,” Attorney General Tarek William Saab wrote on Thursday afternoon (local time) on Twitter. He was referring to an alleged assassination attempt planned from Colombia against Maduro and other senior politicians with the support of the United States.
The American government is one of Maduro’s most bitter opponents. In early 2019, she recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as a legitimate interim president. Since then she has been calling for a change of power. So far, Guaidó has not been able to establish itself in Venezuela. When he declared himself the transition president, he mobilized the masses. In the meantime the inflow has decreased. Maduro is still firmly in the saddle despite increased American sanctions.
The opposition welcomed the indictment. “Maduro stands for drug trafficking, Maduro stands for organized crime,” said Guaidó’s foreign minister Julio Borges. He called on the armed forces to switch sides and support the opposition.
Extraordinary charge
Venezuela is considered one of the most corrupt countries in the world. The military and politicians are said to be involved in illegal mining and drug trafficking. The Cartel de los Soles (“Cartel of the Sun”) is considered to be particularly influential – a syndicate of criminals, which should include government officials as well as officers from the armed forces.
The United States Department of State awarded a $ 15 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest. With the indictment, the American judiciary now hopes to arrest Maduro on a trip abroad and then bring him to justice in the United States. In his home country, President Maduro can continue to rely on the backing of the powerful military.
Charges against an incumbent head of state are extremely unusual. In the 1980s, the United States acted similarly against Panama’s de facto head of state, Manuel Noriega.
According to Barr, the American authorities have been investigating Maduro for at least ten years. Prosecutor Geoffrey Berman said: “Maduro and his accomplices have had a narcotism partnership with the Farc for 20 years.”
Defense minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, Supreme Court President Maikel Moreno, Constituent Assembly Chairman Diosdado Cabello, former military intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal and Minister of Industry Tareck El Aissami have also been charged.
According to American investigations, the Farc and their supporters recently smuggled up to 250 tons of cocaine into Central America each year in the Venezuelan government. “Maduro and the other defendants want to flood the US with cocaine to undermine our nation’s health and well-being,” prosecutor Berman said. “Maduro uses cocaine as a weapon.”
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