US accuses Venezuelan President of using cryptocurrencies to conceal drug terrorism

US authorities have charged Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with involvement in drug terrorism. AtIn order to conceal the criminal activity, the drug cartel, headed by Maduro, allegedly used cryptocurrencies.

The prosecution of drugs against Nicolas Maduro and 14 other officials of the Republic of Venezuela was announced on Thursday, March 26, by US Attorney General William Barr.

According to the website of the Ministry of JusticeThe United States, since at least 1999, Nicholas Maduro, through his drug cartel called The Cartel of the Sun, planned to "drown the United States in cocaine." To this end, the Venezuelan leader and his accomplices conspired with the radical left extremist Colombian group FARC.

The prosecution says the president of VenezuelaHe personally negotiated the supply of several tons of cocaine to other countries, and also coordinated the drug trade. At a later stage, cryptocurrencies were also involved in this activity.

The president of Venezuela now faces life imprisonment. For information that will help detain Maduro, Washington offers $ 15 million.

William Barr said that the United States will consider all options for the detention of Maduro and those who assisted him in the illicit drug trade.

Nicolas Maduro served as Ministerforeign affairs in the government of Hugo Chavez. In 2013, he was elected President of Venezuela, in 2019 he was re-elected for a second term. After the inauguration of Maduro in Venezuela, mass protests began, and opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president of the country until the "free elections". He was recognized in the United States and European countries. Nicolas Maduro is considered the legitimate leader of the Latin American Republic by Russia, Mexico, Cuba, China and several other states.

Recall, Nicolas Maduro is also a “godfatherfather of Venezuelan national cryptocurrency El Petro. During the launch of El Petro in February 2018, Maduro assured that the coin was secured by 5.3 billion barrels of oil from the Ayacucho field. However, Reuters reporters found that the field does not have the infrastructure necessary for the production of this oil and no work is underway.

In January of this year, Maduro signed a decree on the sale of one-sixth of the country's oil reserves for El Petro.