In this week’s roundup… alleged drug lord Walid Makled earns more headlines as he threatens to expose the role of the Chávez government in drug trafficking; and power outages, inflation, and rising food prices persist in Venezuela, plaguing the country’s economic indicators.

First come, first served, The Economist
As drug traffickers go, Walid Makled was a rather small catch. His family in Venezuela owns an airline, a transport company, and loading docks and warehouses in the port of Puerto Cabello, all of which he allegedly used to ship at least 10 tonnes of cocaine to the United States. But since his arrest last August in the Colombian border town of Cúcuta, the United States and Venezuela have both been salivating over the prospect of getting their hands on him.

Analysis: Drug case shows Venezuela-Colombia detente, Reuters
An accused drug lord sitting in a high-security jail outside Bogota has become an unlikely symbol of friendship for Colombia and Venezuela whose rivalry for years mirrored Latin America’s deep ideological fissures. Walid Makled, a Venezuelan also known as “The Turk”, is suspected of being one of the world’s biggest traffickers, helping ship tones of Colombian cocaine to the United States. He boasts of a $1.2 billion fortune — and alleges members of President Hugo Chavez’s socialist government helped him make that.

Venezuela Raises Some Food Costs 48% as Chavez Struggles to Slow Inflation, Bloomberg
Venezuela raised government-set price caps on some food products by as much as 48 percent even as President Hugo Chavez’s government struggles to contain one of the highest inflation rates in the world. The government raised the price on cans of powdered milk 48 percent to 23.7 bolivars ($5.50) and on corn oil by 36 percent, according to a resolution published today in the Official Gazette. The costs of sunflower oil and mixed vegetable oil were also raised.

Power Shortages Spark Doubts Over Venezuela’s Economic Growth, The Wall Street Journal
Blackouts and electricity rationing across Venezuela are raising doubts that the country will reach ambitious economic growth targets set by the government in recent days. To meet the lofty goals, economists and analysts say President Hugo Chavez will likely need to offset lost productivity as factories and businesses grapple with the unreliable power supply by propping up the economy with increasing public spending.