Venezuelan first lady's nephews face U.S. drug trial
Source: Reuters
Two nephews of Venezuela's first lady are set to go on trial on U.S. charges that they tried to carry out a multimillion-dollar drug deal to obtain a large amount of cash to help their family stay in power.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court in the case of Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas and Efrain Antonio Campo Flores, nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's wife, Cilia Flores.
Prosecutors accuse the nephews of trying to monetize their political connections to use one of Venezuela's airports to send hundreds of kilograms of cocaine to Honduras for transshipment to the United States.
Prosecutors say their goal in part was to obtain cash to counteract money they believed the United States was supplying to the opposition before Venezuela's December 2015 National Assembly elections.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-usa-crime-idUSKBN12X19V