U.S. DOJ Formally Drops Claim That Maduro Led Drug Cartel in Revised Indictment

The U.S. Justice Department has quietly dropped a core allegation that Nicolás Maduro was the leader of a major drug cartel, a pivotal shift in one of the most controversial prosecutions in recent U.S. history.

The reversal comes as Maduro, the ousted Venezuelan president, faces federal charges in New York, but the new indictment significantly downplays …