Venezuela President’s relatives arrested on drug trafficking charges

PanARMENIAN.Net - Two nephews of Venezuela's first lady have been arrested in Haiti and taken to the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges, U.S. media reports say, according to BBC News.

Franqui Francisco Flores-de Freitas and Efrain Antonio Campo-Flores are accused of conspiring to smuggle 800kg of cocaine into the United States.

The two men are due to appear before a federal judge in New York on Thursday, November 12.

Venezuela has not commented on the reported arrests which follow on from an airspace violation row on Sunday.

Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said that a U.S. plane had wrongfully entered the South American country's airspace.

Although Venezuela has repeatedly accused the U.S. of meddling in its affairs, ties between the two countries have improved since reaching a low point in March, when the U.S. imposed sanctions on a number of Venezuelan officials for alleged human rights abuses.

The U.S. has repeatedly maintained that drug trafficking is taking place at the highest echelons of President Nicolas Maduro's administration.