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Venezuela’s first lady says US DEA kidnapped her nephews

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores, greet supporters as they arrive for a march for peace in Caracas, Venezuela. Two nephews of Venezuela's powerful first lady Cilia Flores have been arrested in Haiti on charges of conspiring to smuggle 800 kilograms of cocaine into the U.S. AP Photo/Fernando Llano

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela’s first lady is breaking her silence on the arrest of her two nephews on drug trafficking charges, saying they were kidnapped by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Cilia Flores told Venezuelan weekly Tal Cual in an interview published Tuesday the U.S. was seeking revenge and trying to force the socialists from power in the South American country.

Two nephews of the first lady, Ephraim Golf and Francisco Flores, were arrested in November in Haiti and transferred to New York. They are being held on charges of conspiring to smuggle 800 kilograms of cocaine into the U.S.

Flores had refrained from addressing the case.

U.S prosecutors have investigated several top Venezuelan officials for drug charges, but November’s arrests marked the first time President Nicolas Maduro’s inner circle was directly implicated.

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