September 23, 2008	Tuesday	Ramazan 22, 1429

CARACAS: A US trial about an attempt to smuggle a cash-stuffed suitcase from Venezuela to Argentina has linked graft allegations to President Hugo Chavez and the government of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez.

Accusations of high-level misconduct surfacing in the Miami trial of a Venezuelan charged with operating as a foreign agent on American soil come at an inopportune time for both leaders.

Stinging from a defeat in a referendum last year on expanding his powers in the Opec nation, Chavez faces voter discontent over crime and inflation in regional elections in November.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is trying to recover from a debilitating standoff with farmers over export taxes, which drove down her popularity.

“This is a case that hands the opponents of both leaders an opportunity to make noise,” said Rosendo Fraga, an Argentine political analyst.”

The case erupted last year when a Venezuelan-American businessman tried to enter Argentina with $800,000 in cash after travelling on a private jet charted by the Argentine government to ferry officials from Caracas to Buenos Aires.—Reuters