World | Thu May 5, 2016 2:46pm EDT

Ex-Venezuela parliament head sues News Corp over drug article

NEW YORK | BY NATE RAYMOND

The former head of Venezuela's National Assembly filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing the Wall Street Journal of libeling him in an article in which it was reported that he was the target of a U.S. drug trafficking probe.

Diosdado Cabello filed the lawsuit in Manhattan federal court against News Corp, the newspaper's owner, and alleged that the May 2015 article contained "false and defamatory allegations" that he was involved in criminal activities related to drug trafficking and money laundering.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from News Corp and its Dow Jones subsidiary, which was also named as a defendant.

Dow Jones spokeswoman Colleen Schwartz said in a statement that it would "vigorously defend" itself against the lawsuit and that it had "full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting."

According to the lawsuit, the story has caused "enormous damage to Mr. Cabello's reputation and good name, both personally and in his capacity as a key member of Venezuela's National Assembly."

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]