Is Venezuela Becoming A Narco State?

Diosdado Cabello, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, is a leading target of U.S. investigations into alleged drug trafficking and money laundering by senior officials in the South American nation, a Justice Department official said. Mr. Cabello has denied wrongdoing. Photo: Marco Bello/Reuters

Venezuela: Venezuelan Officials Suspected of Turning Country into Global Cocaine Hub

U.S. probe targets No. 2 official Diosdado Cabello, several others, on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering.

U.S. prosecutors are investigating several high-ranking Venezuelan officials, including the president of the country’s congress, on suspicion that they have turned the country into a global hub for cocaine trafficking and money laundering, according to more than a dozen people familiar with the probes.

An elite unit of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Washington and federal prosecutors in New York and Miami are building cases using evidence provided by former cocaine traffickers, informants who were once close to top Venezuelan officials and defectors from the Venezuelan military, these people say.

A leading target, according to a Justice Department official and other American authorities, is National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello, considered the country’s second most-powerful man.

Update: Venezuela parliamentary leader target of US 'narcostate' investigation -- The Telegraph

WNU Editor: When your country's currency has collapsed .... those with access to foreign currencies are king. If you are running a nacro enterprise .... you can literally buy any distressed asset for cheap. Has Venezuela entered this world .... if the above WSJ post is correct, the answer is a resounding yes.

Update #2: Will the Venezuelan State Fail? -- Carl Meacham, RCW/CSIS