NEW YORK (Reuters) — Two nephews of Venezuela's first lady were found guilty on Friday on U.S. charges that they tried to carry out a multimillion-dollar drug deal to obtain a large amount of cash to help their family stay in power.
Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas and Efrain Antonio Campo Flores, nephews of Cilia Flores, the wife of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, were found guilty by a federal jury in Manhattan of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States.
The case has been an embarrassment for Maduro amid economic and political crises in the South American nation.
The case was one of several in which U.S. prosecutors have linked individuals tied to the Venezuelan government to drug trafficking.
Both defendants face up to life in prison when they are sentenced.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond; Editing by Grant McCool)
SEE ALSO: Argentina just extradited 'My Blood,' one of Colombia's most well-connected drug traffickers