HomeNewsBriefVenezuela Charges Low-Ranking Guardsmen in High-Level Drug Deal
BRIEF

Venezuela Charges Low-Ranking Guardsmen in High-Level Drug Deal

CARTEL OF THE SUNS / 8 AUG 2016 BY VENEZUELA INVESTIGATIVE UNIT EN

Venezuelan authorities charged four National Guard members with plotting to traffic a load of cocaine to Mexico, but the low ranks of the officers point to the government's reluctance to tackle corruption higher up the chain of command.

In an August 6 press release, the Attorney General's Office announced drug trafficking charges against 16 people, including the four National Guard members, a security manager for the airline Aeroméxico and eleven other airport workers.

The press release states that the suspects conspired to ship eight suitcases containing a total of 600 kilograms of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico on a June 16 flight. Authorities seized the drug-laden luggage when the flight arrived in Mexico City's international airport from the Simon Bolivar international airport in the Venezuelan city of Maiquetía.

According to a June 20 report by Venezuelan journalist Javier Mayorca, Mexico's powerful Sinaloa Cartel would have been the recipient of the drugs, which were ultimately destined for sale across the US border in Phoenix, Arizona.

The government press release provided few details about the trafficking scheme or the operation that led to the drug bust. However, it did specify that the accused included a first lieutenant in the National Guard, Higmar Vivas, and three sergeants; Jimmy Useche, Elkin Fuentes and Víctor Molina.

The position of first lieutenant is a relatively low rank for an officer in the Venezuelan National Guard, falling below the ranks of general, colonel, major and captain. The rank of sergeant falls below that of lieutenant.

InSight Crime Analysis

The announcement of charges against the National Guard members in connection with the June drug bust in Mexico contrasts sharply with another recent case of alleged corruption within Venezuela's security forces.

Last week, US prosecutors unsealed an indictment alleging that the former general director of Venezuela's anti-drug agency, Nestor Luis Reverol Torres -- who served as a general in the National Guard -- along with the former sub-director of the anti-drug agency, Edylberto Jose Molina Molina, accepted bribes from drug traffickers in exchange for helping them conduct their illicit business.

The day after the unsealing of the indictment, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro named Reverol as the country's new Interior minister, calling the charges against him an attack by the "North American empire."

SEE ALSO: Venezuela News and Profiles

As InSight Crime noted, the Venezuelan government has previously brought charges against other low-ranking National Guard members accused by the United States of drug trafficking. However, Maduro's administration has also moved to protect higher-ranking officials who face US charges.

David Smilde, a Venezuela expert at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), recently wrote that providing protection to high-level officials accused of criminal activity could be part of a strategy intended to shore up Maduro's political position, which has been weakened by ongoing economic turmoil and a growing security crisis, both of which have added momentum to an effort to recall the president from office.

"Maduro seems to be building a core security team among officials that have in some way been blacklisted by the US," Smilde wrote. "This makes sense since these officials have high 'exit costs' in any transition scenario. Put differently, they will be loyal and fight to the finish because their ability to avoid US justice depends on the survival of Chavismo in power."

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

ELITES AND CRIME / 10 OCT 2022

Presidential assassination plots and the Jalisco Cartel's influence on government -- the juicy details of Mexico's SEDENA leaks.

COCAINE / 6 SEP 2021

Honduran businessman Wilkin Montalván's name came up in November 2018 when US agents questioned Tony Hernández, the president's brother, about…

ELITES AND CRIME / 3 JUN 2021

Running for office in Mexico means risking one's life. Just one week ahead of local elections on June 6, at…

About InSight Crime

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.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…