HomeNewsBriefNew Venezuela VP Is Latest Top Official Linked to Drug Trade
BRIEF

New Venezuela VP Is Latest Top Official Linked to Drug Trade

ELITES AND CRIME / 10 JAN 2017 BY VENEZUELA INVESTIGATIVE UNIT EN

The newly appointed vice president of Venezuela has reportedly been investigated by the United States for involvement in the drug trade, making him the most recent official with suspected criminal ties to take a top position in the Venezuelan government.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced on January 4 that Tareck El Aissami, the former governor of the state of Aragua who had previously served as interior minister, was selected as vice president amidst a general reordering of the cabinet.

El Aissami has previously been linked to drug trafficking in several media reports citing unnamed US officials. In 2015, El Nuevo Herald reported that anonymous sources had mentioned El Aissami as a potential accomplice in a drug trafficking scheme involving nephews of Venezuela's first lady.

The news outlet again cited an anonymous source in 2016 who stated that El Aissami worked with Roberto de Jesús Soto García, the alleged Honduran connection for the networks of Venezuelan military officials involved in drug trafficking known as the Cartel of the Suns.

In its report on El Aissami's recent appointment as vice president, the Associated Press wrote that two anonymous sources had confirmed that US prosecutors are investigating the Venezuelan official's possible involvement in drug trafficking.

A few days after naming El Aissami as the new vice president, Maduro announced the creation of an "anti-coup command" to be headed by El Aissami, an increasingly influential and hardline figure within Maduro's United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela - PSUV).

The objective of the "command" will be to "defeat and end once and for all the remains of the oligarchical and right-wing coup against the state," reported the EFE press agency. (The Venezuelan government and some of its supporters often promote conspiracy theories that claim the political opposition is working with shadowy actors to destabilize and eventually overthrow the PSUV's hold on power.)

President Maduro added that several other high-ranking figures would be integrated in the "command," including Interior Minister Néstor Reverol and top PSUV official Diosdado Cabello. Both men have also previously been accused of involvement in drug trafficking.

InSight Crime Analysis

Internal political dynamics within the PSUV may have contributed to Maduro's decision to replace the moderate Aristóbulo Istúriz with the hardline El Aissami as vice president. However, the appointment also represents a pattern of officials suspected of criminal activities being placed in high-level posts in the Venezuelan government.

As Maduro faces a severe and deteriorating economic and security situation in his country, he appears to be surrounding himself with officials who have a substantial interest in ensuring the political opposition does not take power.

"Since El Aissami has been the subject of US drug trafficking and money laundering investigations he has high exit costs and that will make him loyal to the preservation of the Maduro government," David Smilde, an expert on Venezuelan politics who teaches at Tulane University, told InSight Crime. 

SEE ALSO: Venezuela News and Profiles

As mentioned above, the nomination of El Aissami -- who has been called "the narco of Aragua" by leading opposition figure Henrique Capriles -- is not an isolated case. Néstor Reverol was named interior minister by President Maduro the day after the United States unsealed a drug trafficking indictment against him. And Diosdado Cabello was denounced along with El Aissami as being deeply involved in the drug trade by former top Venezuelan officials who defected to the United States, according to the Wall Street Journal.

As InSight Crime previously explained, these appointments seem to be part of a trend whereby the current administration chooses to protect high-ranking officials accused of crimes in order to cling to its decaying power, by ensuring the president a loyal entourage that would have as much to lose from the president's political demise as Maduro himself.

But this strategy appears to have reached new heights recently, as alleged criminals have now entered some of the most influential cabinet offices and have been appointed to a special "command" within the executive branch. This dynamic could facilitate the expansion of widespread corruption and involvement of Venezuelan officials in other criminal activities.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

CARIBBEAN / 29 JUN 2021

The owner of an armored transport company has been charged for his part in a transnational dirty gold network that…

ELITES AND CRIME / 21 OCT 2021

The message was crystal clear: Jimmy Chérizier, Haiti's most powerful gang boss, forcing Prime Minister Ariel Henry to leave a…

BRAZIL / 15 DEC 2021

A recent study of credit card cloning around the world revealed some startling disparities in the risks customers face across…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.