IT WAS, INSISTED William Barr, the United States attorney-general, "good timing". Amid the covid-19 pandemic and a collapse in global oil prices, on March 26th America's Department of Justice unsealed indictments on drugs charges of Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's dictator, and members of his inner circle. No longer should his regime be seen as merely corrupt and incompetent, argued Mr Barr. Now he has formally labelled it criminal-a drug gang masquerading as a government. The State Department offered rewards for information leading to the arrest of the accused ringleaders: $15m for Mr Maduro, $10m for Diosdado Cabello, the thuggish head of the pro-government "constituent assembly".
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