E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Trial of 'The Turk' threatens to expose Chavez regime's involvement in cocaine trafficking
Ever since he swept to power on a Left-wing, "anti-imperialist" ticket, it has been one of the bitterest points of contention between Hugo Chavez and his Norteamericano foes.

Claims that Venezuela has deliberately turned a blind eye to the trafficking of vast quantities of US-bound cocaine have been furiously denied by the country's president, who insists it is just another Washington plot to discredit him.

Now, though, backing for the US version of events has come from an unlikely, if arguably well-informed source - an alleged Venezuelan drug lord who claims that dozens of "top level" figures in the Chavez government, including ministers, generals and judges, were on his payroll.

Walid "The Turk" Makled, a portly Venezuelan of Syrian descent described as "the king of kingpins" by US officials, went on trial in Venezuelan earlier this month, where he faces indictment over a $1.4 billion (£1 billion) drug empire that he claims was built with help from Chavez officials.

A part-owner in a Venezuelan airline, "Aeropostal", Mr Makled, 48, is said to have pioneered the use of passenger airliners to export cocaine out of Latin America, a bigger, faster shipping method than the small private jets and boats traditionally used by smugglers.
Posted by: tipper 2012-04-29
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=343701