Mexican kingpin implicates Venezuelan army generals in drug traffic

Generals of the Venezuelan Army may have been involved in drug trafficking according to a testimony given by Mexican drug kingpin Sergio Villarreal Barragán commonly known as El Grande (The big one), who was arrested two years ago in Mexico.

Villareal, who became one a major drug member of Beltran Leyva cartel, has told the Mexican authorities that Graumman aircrafts carrying as many as three tons of cocaine often departed from Maracaibo, west Venezuela, and landed in Toluca, north Mexico, DPA noted.

"Several generals of the Venezuelan Army along with Venezuelan drug lord El Turco were fully aware of the departure of such airplanes," affirmed Villareal within the framework of an inquiry carried out into some Mexican generals.

According to daily newspaper, "El Grande" referred to Venezuelan top drug dealer Walid Makled, arrested in August 2010 on the Venezuela-Colombia border.

Villareal said the Beltrán cartel had accomplices in airports, including authorities and police officers from airports in Cancún and Toluca, who allowed the entry of illegal drugs from Venezuela and Colombia.

Translated by Jhean Cabrera