Tareck El Aissami (left). (Photo : Getty Images)
The United States has imposed sanctions against Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami, accusing him of playing "a significant role in international narcotics trafficking."
The U.S. Treasury Department froze El Aissami's access to a fortune estimated at $3 billion after an investigation of his alleged links to drug traffickers and Muslim extremists. El Aissami is the son of Syrian and Lebanese Druze immigrants.
El Aissami, who was appointed Vice President only last month by unpopular and embattled President Nicolas Maduro, also heads an "anti-coup commando unit" whose mission is to pursue officials and opponents suspected of treason against Maduro.
The Treasury Department revealed El Aissami "facilitated shipments of narcotics from Venezuela" by plane. It also said he "oversaw or partially owned narcotics shipments of over 1,000 kilograms" from Venezuela with a final destination of the U.S. or Mexico.
El Aissami was also said to have received payment for facilitating drug shipments from Venezuelan drug boss Walid Makled Garcia, and officials linked him to Los Zetas, a Mexican drug cartel. The U.S. also said El Aissami provided protection to Colombian drug lord Daniel Barrera and Venezuelan drug trafficker Hermagoras Gonzalez Palanco.
El Aissami is the most senior Venezuelan official to ever be targeted by the U.S.
The Treasury Department also sanctioned Samark Lopez, a wealthy Venezuelan businessman described as El Aissami's front man laundering drug money through a network of companies in several countries.
Venezuela has yet to officially respond to the U.S. action against its Vice President, which is the result of a years-long investigation. The U.S. Justice Department, however, said there are no pending criminal charges against either El Aissami or Lopez.
Both men are barred from entering the United States. The U.S. said 13 companies owned or controlled by Lopez, including five in Florida, will be blocked and several real estate holdings in the Miami area tied to Lopez were also blocked.
Lopez released a statement calling the actions baseless and "politically motivated."
El Aissami and Lopez were the latest of several Venezuelan government officials and supporters listed as alleged drug traffickers by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the agency in charge of enforcing U.S. sanctions. The sanctions were authorized under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.
