US labels Venezuela's vice president a drug 'kingpin'
The US government labeled聽Venezuelan vice president Tareck聽El Aissami a drug "kingpin" on Monday, a designation that he denounced as a "vile" attack.聽
In the citation, the US Department of Treasury accused Mr. El Aissami of facilitating drug shipments and having links to drug gangs in Mexico and Colombia, making him the most senior Venezuelan official to be sanctioned by the United States. The new vice president, sworn in on Jan. 4, joins a blacklist that聽already includes half a dozen other Venezuelan officials and former officials.聽
El Aissami hit back in a series of tweets the next day, in which he described his sanctioning as an "imperialist aggression."聽
"We shall not be distracted by these miserable provocations," he wrote. "We will see this vile aggression dispelled."聽
The sanction marks聽a departure from the so-called "soft landing" approach taken by the Obama administration, which clashed on occasion with聽efforts by the US Justice Department and Drug Enforcement Administration to crack down on money laundering and drug trafficking by influential Venezuelan officials. In recent years, the White House had tried to use聽behind-the-scenes diplomacy to ease tensions with the Venezuelan government in the aftermath of a series聽of US drug indictments against Venezuelan officials, including Interior Minister Nestor Reverol.聽
This move by the new administration dashes any hopes Socialist President Nicolas Maduro may have had that President Trump would stay out of Venezuelan affairs. Though he frequently criticized former President Barack Obama, painting US聽accusations of drug trafficking, corruption, and human rights abuses as dishonest excuses to justify interfering with Venezuela, he has yet to speak out against Mr. Trump. 聽
At the same time, says David Smilde, a Tulane University professor and Venezuela expert, the聽sanction on El Aissami could benefit Mr. Maduro. 聽
"This is a tremendous gift to Maduro as it ensures El Aissami's loyalty. It essentially increases El Aissami's exit costs and gives him a personal stake in the continuation of 'Chavismo'," Professor Smilde聽told Reuters.聽"To be clear, El Aissami and others should be held responsible for their actions. However it should be understood this process has pernicious unintended consequences. I think we are effectively witnessing the creation of a rogue state."聽
The sanctioning comes as increasing聽numbers of poor and middle-class Venezuelans flee their country to escape worsening economic conditions, as Howard LaFranchi reported for 海角大神 in November:聽
The humanitarian dimensions of the nation鈥檚 crisis and its growing regional impact are spurring Venezuela鈥檚 neighbors, including the US, to be more active in pressing for a resolution of the country鈥檚 deep political and economic woes, many regional experts say.
The question is whether President Nicol谩s Maduro 鈥� and Venezuela鈥檚 fractured political opposition 鈥� are ready for that.
鈥淲e are looking at something catastrophic for Venezuela,鈥� from both economic and humanitarian perspectives, says Patrick Duddy, a former US ambassador to Venezuela. 鈥淎s this becomes a real hazard for Colombia, but also for Brazil,鈥� the realization is growing that 鈥渨e鈥檙e going to have to double down on regional diplomacy,鈥� adds Mr. Duddy, who is now director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
Venezuela has become a major global hub for drug shipments, particularly cocaine, narcotics experts say. According to the Treasury Department,聽El Aissami聽oversaw or partially owned shipments of more than 2,200 pounds of an unspecified drug on multiple occasions, including to Mexico and the United States.聽
According to a former Obama administration official, the decision to sanction El Aissami was postponed last year at the insistence of the State Department amid concerns that it could聽interfere in a Vatican-backed attempt at dialogue between the government and opposition, as well as聽efforts to win the release of Joshua Holt, a US citizen聽jailed for months on weapons charges.聽
"This was an overdue step to ratchet up pressure on the Venezuelan regime and signal that top officials will suffer consequences if they continue to engage in massive corruption, abuse human rights and dismantle democracy," Mark Feierstein, who served as Obama's top national security adviser on Latin America, told the Associated Press.聽
This report includes material from the Associated Press and Reuters.
