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| Nicolas Maduro: US charges Venezuelan president with drug crimes | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The US has charged Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro and other senior officials in the country with drug trafficking crimes. | The US has charged Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro and other senior officials in the country with drug trafficking crimes. |
| The move, which will increase tensions between the two nations, was announced by Attorney General William Barr. | The move, which will increase tensions between the two nations, was announced by Attorney General William Barr. |
| The US also offered a $15m (£12.5m) reward for any information leading to Mr Maduro's arrest. | The US also offered a $15m (£12.5m) reward for any information leading to Mr Maduro's arrest. |
| It has long accused him of leading a corrupt and brutal regime, a charge he has repeatedly rejected. | It has long accused him of leading a corrupt and brutal regime, a charge he has repeatedly rejected. |
| Washington backs opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who last year declared himself interim president. | |
| As well as Mr Maduro, the US indictment also charged four other senior Venezuelan officials including the country's chief justice. | |
| "The Venezuelan people deserve a transparent, responsible, representative government that serves the needs of the people - and that does not.... engage in illicit narcotics trafficking," the US State Department said in a statement. | |
| "These individuals violated the public trust by facilitating shipments of narcotics from Venezuela, including control over planes that leave from a Venezuelan air base," it added. | |
| This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. | This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. |
| You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts. | You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts. |