Venezuelan President’s Nephews Found Guilty in Cocaine Case
- They planned to use presidential hangar in Caracas, U.S. said
- Shipping magnate Wilmer Ruperti financed their defense in NY
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Two nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro were found guilty of conspiring to traffic 800 kilograms of cocaine into the U.S., in a politically fraught case that links the country’s ruling family to the corruption plaguing its economy.
Efrain Antonio Campo Flores, 30, and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas, 31, could face 10 years to life in prison after a jury delivered a guilty verdict in Manhattan court Friday. The men are nephews of Cilia Flores, Maduro’s wife, and Venezuela contends they were kidnapped, showing that the Drug Enforcement Administration has operated illegally in Venezuela, in contravention of a 2005 decree.