Venezuelan leaders charged as narcos

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Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro (right) and Maikel Moreno, president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela Associated Press/Photo by Ariana Cubillos (file)

The United States on Thursday indicted Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and 14 members of his inner circle on corruption, money laundering, and narcoterrorism charges. The U.S. State Department offered a $55 million reward for any information leading to the arrest of Maduro and four others.

What do the indictments involve? Federal prosecutors in Miami, New York, and Washington accuse Maduro and his cronies of collaborating with Colombian rebels and military officials to transport cocaine into Central America, money laundering, and smuggling drugs across Venezuelan airspace. Maduro retorted by calling President Donald Trump a “racist cowboy” and a “miserable human being” and warned he would fight by any means necessary if the United States tried to invade the country.

Dig deeper: Read Marvin Olasky’s report on refugees who fled the Venezuelan crisis.

Onize Ohikere

Onize is WORLD’s Africa reporter and deputy global desk chief. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and earned a journalism degree from Minnesota State University–Moorhead. Onize resides in Abuja, Nigeria.

@onize_ohiks