US trial to air allegations of Venezuelan military's drug trafficking ties

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A trial starting on Monday of a man accused of shipping tens of thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States will focus on suspected ties between drug traffickers and leaders of Venezuela's military.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan accuse Venezuelan Carlos Orense of paying millions of dollars in bribes to senior military officials to protect cocaine he imported from neighboring Colombia for shipment to the United States.