Gustavo Coronel
Declaración de Preet Bharara, Fiscal del estado de Nueva York, sobre la sentencia de los narco-sobrinos Flores
El
Fiscal General del estado de Nueva York, Breet Bharara ha anunciado el
resultado del juicio seguido a los sobrinos de Cilia Flores por intentos
de llevar drogas a los Estados Unidos. En
su declaración completa, ver abajo (en Inglés), el Fiscal Bharara
anuncia que la pena contemplada para los sobrinos de Cilia Flores va
desde un mínimo de 10 años a prisión perpetua.
El
caso fue probado a satisfacción del Jurado, el cual deliberó por unas
seis horas antes de pronunciarse unánimemente por la culpabilidad de los
jóvenes sobrinos de la esposa del presidente
de Venezuela, Cilia Flores. La droga iba a ser transportada desde
Venezuela a Honduras y de allí introducida en los Estados Unidos.
Durante el juicio se dijo que se utilizaría el hangar de la presidencia
de Venezuela para hacer esta operación.
A
pesar de que uno de los testigos fue descalificado por la misma parte
acusadora, el Jurado consideró que la información presentada durante el
juicio era suficiente para la condena.
IMPACTO DE ESTE JUICIO SOBRE LA REPUTACIÓN DE LA PAREJA PRESIDENCIAL VENEZOLANA Y SOBRE EL RÉGIMEN
La
culpabilidad de estos jóvenes sobrinos de la “primera dama” de
Venezuela o “la primera combatiente”, como ella prefiere que la llamen,
es de ellos y no se extiende jurídicamente a la pareja
Maduro-Flores. Sin embargo, la estrecha relación existente entre los
Maduro-Flores y sus sobrinos, el hecho de que ellos estuvieran
protegidos por la pareja presidencial, el tren de vida que llevaban, el
uso de aviones JET privados, la posesión de pasaportes
diplomáticos, el uso mencionado durante el juicio de facilidades
presidenciales en el aeropuerto para el pretendido envío de drogas, las
declaraciones de la Sra. Flores al acusar a los Estados Unidos de “haber
raptado a sus sobrinos”, el financiamiento de
la defensa de los sobrinos por parte de un contratista de PDVSA –
Wilmer Ruperti - a quien se le acaba de otorgar un contrato por cien
millones de dólares, a pesar de haber sido demandado y condenado por
desfalco a empresas navieras Rusas y uso del nombre
de PDVSA para cometer su crimen, todo esto y más, establecen una
asociación muy fuerte entre los sentenciados y la presidencia de
Venezuela, robusteciendo las evidencias que apuntan al gobierno de
Nicolás Maduro como un narco-régimen. Ya estas evidencias incluían
la designación de altos funcionarios del régimen hecha por el gobierno
de los Estados Unidos, de estar involucrados en narcotráfico. Esa
designación incluye al Ministro del Interior, ex-jefe de la Guardia
nacional, Néstor Reverol, a gobernadores como Ramón
Rodríguez Chacín y a miembros del partido de gobierno en la Asamblea
nacional como el General Hugo Carvajal.
Este es el texto completo de la declaración de prensa del Fiscal Breet Bharara:
U.S. ATTORNEY OFFICE OF NEW YORK'S FULL STATEMENT ON THE CASE
Preet
Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New
York, announced that EFRAIN ANTONIO CAMPO FLORES and FRANQUI FRANCISCO
FLORES DE FREITAS were found guilty today of
conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. Together with
others, CAMPO FLORES and FLORES DE FREITAS agreed to distribute in
excess of 800 kilograms of cocaine, knowing and intending that the drugs
were destined for the United States. CAMPO FLORES
and FLORES DE FREITAS were convicted after a two-week jury trial before
US District Judge Paul A. Crotty.
US
Attorney Preet Bharara stated: 'Today, a unanimous jury found Efrain
Antonio Campo Flores and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas guilty of
conspiring to traffic in massive quantities of cocaine.
As the evidence at trial established, the two men thought they would
make millions of dollars sending hundreds of kilograms of cocaine to the
United States. What they ended up with is a conviction in an American
court and the prospect of years in federal prison.'
According to the evidence presented during the trial:
Beginning
no later than August 2015, CAMPO FLORES and FLORES DE FREITAS worked
with others in Venezuela and elsewhere in an effort to dispatch large
loads of cocaine via aircraft from Simon Bolívar
International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela. In early October 2015,
an individual who was cooperating with the Drug Enforcement
Administration ('DEA') in Honduras ('CW-1') reported to the DEA that a
Honduran
national had introduced CW-1 to two Venezuelans – later identified as
CAMPO FLORES and FLORES DE FREITAS – who were interested in sending
cocaine-laden aircraft with legitimate-seeming
flight plans from Venezuela to Honduras. On or about October 3, 2015,
CW-1 met with CAMPO FLORES, FLORES DE FREITAS, and others in San Pedro
Sula, Honduras, to discuss sending hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from
Simon Bolívar International Airport to Juan
Manuel Galvez International Airport in Roatan, Honduras.
In
late October 2015, two confidential sources working at the direction of
the DEA ('CS-1' and 'CS-2') traveled to Caracas, Venezuela, to meet
with the defendants. CS-1 purported to be the Mexican
boss of the drug trafficking organization with which CW-1 was
affiliated, and CS-2 purported to be an associate of CS-1. At a meeting
in Caracas on or about October 27, 2015, CAMPO FLORES and FLORES DE
FREITAS presented CS-1 and CS-2 with a kilogram of cocaine,
referring to it as a 'little animal,' so that they could test the
quality of the drugs.
In
early November 2015, FLORES DE FREITAS met in Honduras with individuals
acting at the direction of the DEA as well as co-conspirators,
including co-defendant Robert de Jesus Soto Garcia, to
further discuss the cocaine shipment. During the recorded meeting,
FLORES DE FREITAS and Soto Garcia made precise plans for the drug load,
and FLORES DE FREITAS agreed to send the first load of cocaine on
November 15, 2015.
On
November 10, 2015, CAMPO FLORES and FLORES DE FREITAS flew on a private
jet to Haiti intending to pick up an initial multi-million-dollar
payment for the cocaine. Later that day, CAMPO FLORES
and FLORES DE FREITAS were arrested by Haitian law enforcement
officers, expelled from Haiti, and flown to Westchester County
International Airport in White Plains, New York on a DEA jet.
CAMPO
FLORES, 30, and FLORES DE FREITAS, 31, were found guilty of conspiracy
to (i) import five or more kilograms of cocaine into the United States
from a foreign country; and (ii) distribute five or more kilograms of
cocaine knowing and intending that it would
be imported into the United States, which carries a mandatory minimum
sentence of ten years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The statutory minimum and maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
The statutory minimum and maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr.
Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA's Special
Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit, and New York Strike
Force. Mr. Bharara also thanked the DEA's Port-au-Prince
Country Office, US Customs and Border Patrol's National Targeting
Center, DEA's Airwing, the Government of the Republic of Haiti and the
Haitian National Police, and the US Department of Justice's Office of
International Affairs for their assistance.
This
prosecution is being handled by the Office's Terrorism and
International Narcotics Unit. Assistant US Attorneys Emil J. Bove III
and Brendan F. Quigley are in charge of the prosecution.
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