Maduro's nephews extradited to United States on cocaine charges

Two nephews of the first lady of Venezuela were to be arraigned Thursday in NY on federal drug smuggling charges after their arrest and immediate extradition from Haiti, according to several media reports.

A lengthy undercover operation by the U.S. resulted in the arrest on Tuesday of Franqui Francisco Flores-de Freitas, 30, and Efrain Antonio Campo-Flores, 29, at a hotel in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.

In October, the two contacted a DEA confidential informant in Honduras to ask for help in trafficking drugs through the airport on the island of Roatan, and allegedly sent pilots to speak with an airport official about the scheme.

Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela, has lashed out at "imperialist ambushes" after two of his family members were arrested by American officials on drug trafficking charges.

Campo Flores and Flores de Freitas were charged in a sealed indictment, and prosecutors say they meant to sell the cocaine in NY, an unidentified person with knowledge of the matter told The NY Times.

In his speech, Maduro did not refer to the arrests.

The Associated Press also reports that both men were carrying diplomatic passports despite not having diplomatic immunity.

"The fatherland will follow its course", tweeted the 52-year-old president.

President Nicolás Maduro defended Venezuela's human rights record in Geneva yesterday after the top United Nations rights official voiced serious concerns about the country's judiciary and harassment of his critics.

The "extremist" groups attacking Venezuela are not just any extremist groups, Maduro added, but "very economically strong" groups, supported by imperialist powers.

"My Office, in particular our Regional Office for South America, is ready to provide technical assistance in the implementation of the recommendations made by the Committees and in Venezuela's UPR, as well as on the National Human Rights Action Plan". She was on the legal team of late socialist leader Chavez, working to secure his 1994 release from prison after a failed coup attempt.

Flores, who Maduro calls the "First Combatant," is one of the most-powerful members of Venezuela's revolutionary government and a constant presence alongside her husband whenever he appears in public.

The United States government has said that more than 200 tons a year of cocaine goes through Venezuela - around a third of Colombia's estimated production. She and Maduro married shortly after he became president in 2013, succeeding President Hugo Chavez.

Caracas has constantly denied allegations that it is involved in drug trafficking, saying that the allegations are efforts to destabilize the government.