Senior South Africans suspected of benefiting from Venezuelan drug operations

United States analyst Joshua Meservey said there is increased suspicion that senior South African government officials benefited from the Venezuelan drug operations.

Joshua Meservey is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute, where he focuses on power competition in Africa, African geopolitics, and counterterrorism.

He was previously a research fellow for Africa at the Heritage Foundation, which means he is well-positioned to comment on African matters.

He told Biznews founder Alec Hogg that South Africa’s opposition to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s arrest may go deeper than anti-imperialistic rhetoric.

There is a strong suspicion among American policy makers who follow these issues closely that senior South Africans benefited from Maduro’s narco state.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been accused by the United States government of leading a decades-long narcoterrorism conspiracy.

The allegations against them include transforming the Venezuelan state into a platform for international drug trafficking to enrich themselves and maintain power.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that Maduro has been at the forefront of a criminal organization known as the Cartel of the Suns for over 25 years.

Meservey said it is well known that narcotics trafficking from Venezuela and South America has gone through South Africa.

However, he said this is only part of the problem. “I suspect a potentially bigger problem were the financial flows,” he said.

“South Africa has severe problems in ensuring that its jurisdiction does not get used for money laundering.”

“Some of those problems stem from the fact that there are probably senior people within the South African government who benefit from these types of activities.”

He said Americans who are in positions to work on these issues and are knowledgeable about them are looking closely into them.

South Africa and the ANC condemned the capture of Nicolás Maduro

The South African government, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, has strongly condemned the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

In a formal submission to the United Nations Security Council, South Africa characterised the removal of Maduro and his spouse as an abduction.

It added that it was a manifest violation of the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also the leader of the ANC, stated that South Africa rejects the actions of the United States.

He argued that military invasions against sovereign states only lead to instability and that “might is not right.”

DIRCO argued that criminal allegations, such as the drug trafficking charges, do not justify external military intervention or the arrest of a sitting head of state.

South Africa requested an urgent session of the UN Security Council to address the situation, warning that such actions risk normalising the use of force.

Ramaphosa had a particularly close bond with Maduro. In 2020, he described the Venezuelan president as “my brother”.

“Our two countries share a close and deep historical bond based on friendship, solidarity and cooperation,” Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa has called for the immediate release of Maduro and his wife, framing South Africa’s position as one of solidarity with the Venezuelan people.

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula was even more scathing towards the action, calling it an act of international lawlessness.

He described the operation as nothing but imperialist aggression and a naked exercise of unilateral military power.

Mbalula argued that the drug charges were a smokescreen, suggesting the real motivation was for the US to take control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

He called on people to mobilise against ‘American imperialist aggression’ and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Maduro and his wife.