Venezuelan politician Diosdado Cabello, described by the Wall Street Journal as “the country’s second most-powerful man,” denies having any ties to drug trafficking and money laundering. He is suing the Wall Street Journal and its publisher Dow Jones for reporting otherwise.
Cabello was president of Venezuela’s National Assembly for four years, ending in January of this year.
In a statement, Dow Jones spokesperson Colleen Schwartz told iMediaEthics: ” We are in the process of reviewing the suit but we have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting. We will vigorously defend The Wall Street Journal against this lawsuit.”
The Wall Street Journal‘s May 18, 2015 story was headlined, “Venezuelan Officials Suspected of Turning Country into Global Cocaine Hub: U.S. Probe targets No. 2 official Diosdado Cabello, several others, on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering.”
The story reported that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was working on a case against Cabello and others.
Cabello’s lawsuit claims the allegations created “enormous damage to Mr Cabello’s reputation and name,” the Guardian reported.
“The lawsuit describes the politician as a ‘devout husband and father of four,’ a ‘distinguished Venezuelan politician’ and ‘high-ranking member of the military,'” Bloomberg reported.
iMediaEthics has written to Cabello’s attorney for comment.