Two nephews of Venezuela’s first lady have been arrested and brought to the United States to face drug trafficking charges, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Franqui Francisco Flores-de Freitas and Efrain Antonio Campo-Flores were flown into New York on Tuesday, a source said.
Both are nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, according to two sources linked to the Flores family.
The news may tarnish Maduro’s image as he heads toward legislative elections that are expected to be among the most difficult for the ruling Socialist Party due to the OPEC nation’s ongoing economic crisis.
The U.S. State Department says that more than half of the cocaine produced in neighboring Colombia is trafficked through Venezuela toward markets in Europe and the United States.
Maduro denies those charges, calling them a smear campaign against the Socialist Party.
No charging documents were immediately available on Wednesday. A spokeswoman for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara declined comment. Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.
Flores, 62, whom the president refers to as the “First Combatant,” is highly influential under the government of her husband. She worked on the legal team of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, working to secure his 1994 release from prison after a failed coup attempt.
In 2006, she became the first woman elected to lead the legislature, taking over that role from Maduro.
She is frequently seen at Maduro’s side in public events, and on Wednesday was with him in Saudi Arabia.
Maduro is scheduled to speak at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday to defend his country’s human rights record in the face of accusations he has stifled dissent.
The U.S. Treasury in 2011 accused four Venezuelan officials of being “often in direct support” of Colombian FARC rebels narcotics and arms trafficking activities and added them to the United States’ “kingpin” list.
At least 100 military and police officials have been accused for drug trafficking the last five years, according to the Venezuelan state prosecutors office.
