U.S. federal agents said they detained two members of Venezuelan president Maduro’s family in Haiti on drug trafficking charges. According to news reports the two men are related to Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores. Lourdes Casanova, academic director of the Emerging Markets Institute at Cornell University’s Johnson School of Business and a member of several taskforces working on Latin America at the World Economic Forum, says the arrest is a sign of the high level corruption that permeates Venezuelan politics but she adds it might not dent Maduro’s grip on power.
Bio: https://www.johnson.cornell.edu/Faculty-And-Research/Profile/id/lc683
Casanova says:
“Although it is still not clear how close the two men are to Maduro himself, this case clearly demonstrates the level of corruption that permeates Venezuelan society, and Maduro’s presidency. This is a very low point for the government.
“What is hard to understand is why this government has survived for so long. The economy is in trouble, food is scarce throughout the country, and Maduro’s popularity keeps falling.
“One explanation might lie in China and – to a certain extent – Russia’s economic support. Every time we think Venezuela is about to collapse, China extends generous loans in exchange for oil. Russia provides weapons.”
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