【Text/Observer Network Zhang David】
Guaira, venezuela's opposition leader who once established himself as "president", was recently exposed to have taken photos with a number of Colombian drug dealers at the border, and entered Colombia with the assistance of the latter to receive assistance. Venezuelan prosecutors immediately announced that they would investigate Guaido's association with Colombian criminal gangs.
The procuratorial organ of the Iron Evidence Commission launched an investigation
Screenshot of the RT report
According to the Russian Television Today (RT) reported on September 13, the Colombian non-governmental organization "Progressive Foundation" released a set of photos on the 12th, which showed Guaido and two members of the Colombian drug trafficking group "Lastrojos" taking a group photo alone.
The photos show Guaido, aided by the drug cartel, crossed the border into Colombia in February, where he attended a concert organized by billionaire Richard Branson aimed at building momentum for the Venezuelan opposition, the publishers said.
Guaido (dressed in black) poses with two drug dealers in social media screenshots
A spokesman for Guaido denied any contact with the drug dealers and insisted that "Guaido has taken many group photos and is not clear about the identity of the group photo takers.".
Colombia's Ministry of Defence also denied the claim, saying "no criminals assisted Guaido in entering Colombia," although a spokesman for the ministry confirmed that the other two men in the photo were members of a drug cartel that had been arrested.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Reverol released photos of Guaido with two Colombian militants on the same day, and said that these photos once again proved that Guaido was linked to terrorist activities in Venezuela, and the authorities would hand over the photos as evidence to the Attorney General's Office.
Guaido's group photo costume is the same as when he participated in the event (Source: social media)
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said the photos were important evidence of Guaido's association with drug traffickers.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan Attorney General's Office announced that it would investigate the incident to determine Guaido's association with drug traffickers. Venezuela's prosecutorial authorities have previously launched multiple investigations into Guaido, including allegedly inciting violent demonstrations.
The active area of "LaStrojos" includes Colombia's border area near Venezuela, formerly known as the Cali Cartel, one of Colombia's two most powerful drug cartels in the 1980s, which had more than 1,500 members in 2009. Several of its top leaders were arrested in 2012, and gang members plummeted.
Coup failure scandals continue Guaido is in an awkward position
Venezuela's "self-reliant president" Juan Guaido launched an unsuccessful coup d'état in April with U.S. support, and then called on the U.S. to intervene militarily in Venezuela.
Coup triggers serious clashes Screenshot of bBC video
Boosting opposition morale as supporters plummeted after the failed mutiny, Guaido claimed in his May 11 opposition rally speech that he was seeking "direct ties" with the U.S. military.
Immediately, a scandal in which "venezuelan opposition embezzled 'charitable donations' and spent a lot of money" disgraced Guaido.
The PanAm Post broke the news on June 14 that aid funds originally used to resettle defected Venezuelan soldiers had been stolen by opposition leader Guaido and used for fine restaurants, hotels, nightclubs and luxury goods, amounting to more than 100,000 US dollars.
Juan Guaido appears at a press conference (Source: IC Photos)
It was the Colombian intelligence services that provided this information. The government is "well aware" of the Venezuelan opposition's practices and has long been dissatisfied.
The Associated Press described the corruption allegations as a "heavy blow" to the opposition, with pro-opposition media polls in June showing that only 36 percent of Venezuelans in June acknowledged Guaido as "interim president" compared to 50 percent in February.
On September 13, Guaido was exposed to a photo with drug traffickers, which made his image plummet.
Guaido publicly stated that he was seeking cooperation with Colombia and arranged for a third-party "Transparency International" group to conduct an investigation on social media screenshots
Guaido, from initially questioning the results of the election, demanding re-elections, to the continuous demonstrations and demonstrations since then, to the introduction of Western support and direct coup d'état, many actions have basically ended in fiasco, and none of them have been successful.
On the contrary, the Maduro government, which was constantly controversial and nearly collapsed under heavy US sanctions, temporarily stabilized the situation and did not let the domestic situation get out of control further.
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