ICE Asks If You’ve Seen Venezuela’s ‘Most Wanted’ Minister

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement published a photograph of Venezuela Industry Minister Tareck El Aissami, one of President Nicolas Maduro’s closest allies, with the question, “Have you seen this most wanted fugitive?”

Part of its Most Wanted Wednesday campaign, ICE, as the agency is known, said on Twitter that El Aissami is wanted for international narcotics trafficking. The notice on ICE’s website listed El Aissami’s last known location as Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, and indicated any reward information as “not available.”

The U.S. designated El Aissami, who then served as vice president, as a narcotics trafficker under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act in 2017. The Treasury Department alleged that El Aissami protected drug lords and oversaw a network of planes and ships exporting thousands of kilograms of cocaine.

Samark Lopez Bello, who is considered a close business associate, appeared alongside El Aissami on ICE’s most wanted list. Lopez Bello was also sanctioned under the Kingpin Act in 2017.

ICE did not respond to an email request for comment.

To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Vasquez in Caracas Office at avasquez45@bloomberg.net;Jose Orozco in Mexico City at jorozco8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Patricia Laya at playa2@bloomberg.net, Jose Orozco, Dale Quinn

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