However, these reports should not come as a surprise to anyone in the U.S. government. Having organized their government identically to that of Fidel and Raul Castro, the Chavistas have copied Fidel’s narco trafficking structure. This includes the use of drugs as a major source of income and international influence.

The Chavista war on the “War on Drugs” began in 2005, when then-President Hugo Chavez expelled the DEA from Venezuela. President Chavez cited that the American agency had been spying on his administration with the intent to overthrow it.

Without a serious agency working to curtail the transit of cocaine to the global market, Venezuela was able to get in on the drug business. In addition to the smuggling of cocaine into the United States and Europe, Venezuela set up drug partnerships with the Iranian and Syrian government, as well as regional guerrilla movements.

It has been reported that between 2007 and 2010, regular flights between Caracas and Tehran with stops in Damascus delivered drugs from Venezuela in exchange for weapons, cash, and Hezbollah terrorists from Iran and Syria.

Cleverly named Aeroterror, these flights served as a crucial monetary and strategic connection for both nations. While it is believed that the connection ended in 2010, it can be assumed that these flights would resume should Iran receive sanctions relief with the nuclear deal.

The individual in charge of these flights and the corresponding passports for Hezbollah operatives was a man named Tareck el Aissami. Following his success in charge of aeroterror, he was backed by the Maduro government and won the Governorship of Aragua.

In 2011, ex-drug lord turned informant, Walid Makled, was offered to the United States by the Colombian government. Mr. Makled had claimed to have had detailed knowledge of nearly 40 high-level Venezuelans involved in the drug trade. One of those individuals who Mr. Makled was going to expose was none other than Tareck el Aissami. Sadly, we will never know what he had to say since the Colombians extricated him to the very people he was going to turn against in Venezuela.

Tareck el Aissami is only one of many narco traffickers-turned government employees. In 2008, the United States Treasury listed a military official named Henry Rangel Silva as a major narco trafficker in Venezuela. In 2012, Hugo Chavez named him the country’s new defense minister.

Then in 2014 Venezuela’s ex-intelligence chief, Hugo Carvajal, was arrested by Dutch authorities in Aruba for his connection with cocaine smuggling networks. The Dutch were unable to charge Carvajal due to his diplomatic immunity. Both Silva and Carvajal had ties to terror organizations on the Latin American continent.

While the WSJ’s article clearly states that President Nicholas Maduro is not a suspect, past evidence shows that in order to receive the backing of the Chavista regime, individuals must show they are willing to do anything asked of them. It has become the model to success in Venezuela.

It could be reasonably assumed that an individual who began his career as a bus driver and social activist may have had to conduct illegal activity to gain the trust of Hugo Chavez’ regime. It is believed that Nicholas Maduro played a critical role in the 2002 massacre of peaceful anti-government protesters in the streets of Venezuela.

Note: Maduro is in a white button-down 4:45-4:53)

Many past high-level officials have had ties to drug smuggling, money laundering, and other nefarious activity. As a result, no one should be shocked when reports are released detailing the current leadership’s role in narco activities.