Typically, when international experts, foreign governments and Venezuelan citizens talk about the rising crime in Venezuela, it’s in regard to the rampant violence that has made the country as dangerous as some conflict zones. Even the U.S. State Department has warned citizens traveling to Venezuela of the purported dangers. However, more and more, the governments in both the U.S. and Venezuela are turning their attention to the “worrying trends” emerging in Venezuela’s illegal narcotics trade.

Now, a former Venezuelan judge has suggested to U.S. investigators that prominent figures in Venezuela’s government are involved in drug trafficking operations.

In testimony given before the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Tuesday, Eladio Aponte Aponte, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Venezuela, has implied that senior officers of the armed forces and even leaders of the Chávez government are complicit in drug trafficking operations.

According to one source, Aponte said the drug trafficking operations are run directly by Henry Rangel Silva, the Venezuelan Minister of Defense; General Cliver Alcalá, commander of the Fourth Armored Division of the Army; and Diosdado Cabello, president of the National Assembly and one of President Hugo Chávez’s closest allies.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of Treasury Department was already aware of Alcalá’s and Silva’s alleged links to drug trafficking and terrorist organizations.

Aponte arrived in the U.S. from Costa Rica, where he had been since Apr. 2. He was himself implicated in the drug conspiracy, and was dismissed as a judge on March 20 for alleged ties to accused trafficker Walid Makled. His whereabouts between his dismissal from the Supreme Court and his appearance in Costa Rica remain unknown.

The National Assembly removed Aponte from office after documents found in Makled’s apartment showed ties to the judge. Aponte gave Makled credentials that gave him access to court offices and the freedom to move around the country without restriction.

Makled is currently on trial in Caracas. He was extradited to Venezuela from Columbia after a series of diplomatic negotiations.

According to reports released by WikiLeaks, the Venezuelan military exerted pressure on Chávez to prevent Makled from being tried in the U.S. Senior army officers reportedly fear that Makled — who has already told media that senior army officers were directly involved in drug transport — might testify that the Venezuelan military aided his drug trafficking operation.

Economic issues often garner the most attention during an election season. But in this election year in Venezuela, crime is an equally important issue for most Venezuelans. If proven true, these alleged connections between the government’s top officials and narcotics trafficking could adversely impact the PSUV, who very well could lose the high ground in the debate about crime.