Two nephews of Venezuela's first lady, Efraín Antonio Campo Flores and Francisco Flores de Freitas, appeared in a Manhattan court Thursday and denied charges of conspiring to smuggle cocaine into the United States. Campo Flores was crying as he walked into the courtroom.
Néstor Reverol, a former interior minister and counter-drug chief under the late Hugo Chávez, is alleged to have tipped off drug traffickers to raids and "stopped or hindered" drug investigations, a person familiar with the federal case told The New York Times.
After 16 years of rubber-stamp impotence, Venezuela's opposition plans to use its overwhelming electoral victory to free political prisoners -- including its most charismatic leader -- and offer President Nicolás Maduro six months to take painful economic steps or face removal.
Venezuelan opposition leaders said Tuesday they won a two-thirds majority in the legislature, which could challenge President Nicolás Maduro's grip on power in the oil-rich but crisis-hit nation.
CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela's jubilant opposition vowed Monday to drag the oil-rich country out of its economic crisis and free political prisoners after winning control of congress from socialist President Nicolás Maduro.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A clear victory for Venezuela's opposition in weekend elections showed that voters had an "overwhelming desire for a change," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday, calling for dialogue in the oil-rich, cash-poor country.
The victory by the opposition coalition set the stage for further confrontation and could energize a movement aiming to remove Maduro from power before the end of his term in 2019. The result also marked a turning point for the "revolution" launched 16 years ago by the late Hugo Chávez.
Venezuela's opposition won control of the national legislature, electoral authorities said Monday, in a blow to the oil-rich country's socialist government that has held the congress for 16 years.
Venezuelans voted Sunday in tense elections that could see the opposition seize legislative power from the socialist government and risk sparking violence in the oil-rich, cash-poor nation.
