Nephews of Venezuela’s first lady arrested on US cocaine-smuggling charges

Two nephews of Venezuela's powerful first lady Cilia Flores were arrested in Haiti on charges of conspiring to smuggle 800kg of cocaine into the US and will be arraigned in New York, three people familiar with the case said.

The arrest Tuesday, coming just three weeks ahead of key Venezuelan legislative elections, is likely to exacerbate already tense relations between the US and Venezuela and cast a hard look at US accusations of drug trafficking at the highest levels of embattled President Nicolas Maduro's socialist administration.

The two suspects, Efrain Campos and Francisco Flores, were extradited from Haiti and are set to be arraigned in a federal court in New York, said a US law enforcement official, who insisted on speaking anonymously on Wednesday since he was not authorised to discuss the case.

Michael Vigil, a former head of international operations at the Drug Enforcement Administration who was briefed by US authorities about the lengthy undercover operation, said Campos and Flores were arrested in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, after arriving from Venezuela aboard a private plane. Both men were carrying diplomatic passports even though they don't have diplomatic immunity, Vigil said.

He also said Campos had claimed to law enforcement that he is the son of Cilia Flores and stepson of Maduro.

Another person briefed on the incident, who agreed to talk about the case only if not quoted by name, said Campos is the son of a deceased sister of Cilia Flores and was partly raised by the first lady and Maduro.