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| U.S. Prosecutors Expected to Charge Two Prominent Venezuelans | U.S. Prosecutors Expected to Charge Two Prominent Venezuelans |
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| American prosecutors have charged two powerful members of the Venezuelan political establishment, accusing the men of receiving money from drug traffickers in exchange for tipping off crime groups to investigations and raids. | |
| The men, Néstor Reverol, head of the country’s National Guard, and Edilberto Molina, a former official in its antidrug unit, will soon be charged in Federal District Court in Brooklyn, according to a person familiar with the case. | The men, Néstor Reverol, head of the country’s National Guard, and Edilberto Molina, a former official in its antidrug unit, will soon be charged in Federal District Court in Brooklyn, according to a person familiar with the case. |
| Mr. Reverol was a confidant of President Hugo Chávez and served as Chávez’s interior minister and head of the country’s antidrug unit. The indictment will mark the latest charges by United States prosecutors against powerful Venezuelans who the prosecutors say have assumed a large role in narcotics trafficking. | Mr. Reverol was a confidant of President Hugo Chávez and served as Chávez’s interior minister and head of the country’s antidrug unit. The indictment will mark the latest charges by United States prosecutors against powerful Venezuelans who the prosecutors say have assumed a large role in narcotics trafficking. |
| In November, federal prosecutors charged two nephews of the wife of Cilia Flores, the Venezuelan president’s wife and a former attorney general, with conspiring to transport 800 kilograms of cocaine to the United States. They were arrested in Haiti. | In November, federal prosecutors charged two nephews of the wife of Cilia Flores, the Venezuelan president’s wife and a former attorney general, with conspiring to transport 800 kilograms of cocaine to the United States. They were arrested in Haiti. |
| Mr. Reverol’s indictment could be unsealed as soon as this month and will mark one of the highest-profile cases yet involving the Venezuelan elite. | Mr. Reverol’s indictment could be unsealed as soon as this month and will mark one of the highest-profile cases yet involving the Venezuelan elite. |
| According to the person familiar the case, who asked not to be identified given the sensitivity of the case, Mr. Reverol spent more than a decade on the payroll of the criminal organizations he was supposed to be pursuing. | According to the person familiar the case, who asked not to be identified given the sensitivity of the case, Mr. Reverol spent more than a decade on the payroll of the criminal organizations he was supposed to be pursuing. |
| The prosecutors say that he regularly alerted narcotics traffickers about when and where raids were to take place. Mr. Reverol personally “stopped or hindered investigations” of drug traffickers, using his powerful posts to allow them to operate in Venezuela with impunity, according to the person familiar with the case. | The prosecutors say that he regularly alerted narcotics traffickers about when and where raids were to take place. Mr. Reverol personally “stopped or hindered investigations” of drug traffickers, using his powerful posts to allow them to operate in Venezuela with impunity, according to the person familiar with the case. |
| Mr. Reverol and Mr. Molina could not immediately be reached for comment. They are believed to be in Venezuela, which has no extradition treaty with the United States. | Mr. Reverol and Mr. Molina could not immediately be reached for comment. They are believed to be in Venezuela, which has no extradition treaty with the United States. |