Shades of Fast-N-Furious Stupidity, albeit at a local levelIn a state seized by a dramatic surge in drug dealing, Bal Harbour police were about to take their controversial sting operation far outside Florida.
After weeks of delivering drug money to Miami storefront businesses, a new deal unfolded thousands of miles away in a country where the war on drugs had shifted: Venezuela.
Instead of enlisting the help of federal agents, the officers from the small community embarked on a series of laundering arrangements that were never revealed to the federal government.
For two years starting in 2010, they funneled millions in drug money into the bank accounts of Venezuelans, including William Amaro Sanchez, now special assistant to President NicolĂĄs Maduro. The stated goal: to disrupt criminal groups.
They sent drug money to a well-known trafficker, a cash smuggler and a money launderer ‐ more than $4 million in all.