 CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuelan authorities collared a Pakistani national with alleged links to terrorism in eastern Venezuela, an official from the Attorney General's Office said Thursday. Hussein Rene Assar, 38, was detained on Oct. 25 in the city of Puerto La Cruz, which is located roughly 240 kilometers (148 miles) east of Caracas, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official said the Canadian Embassy tipped off Venezuela's federal police force after Assar allegedly demanded monetary payment in exchange for information regarding alleged terrorist plots against the Canadian government. | Oh, so that's why Hugo had him picked up. He was threatening another socialist state |
""It's an ongoing investigation, so we can't comment on it," Michael Harvey, a spokesman at the embassy, told The Associated Press during a telephone interview. The official from the Attorney General's Office said Assar was asking for US$7,000 (euro5,800) in exchange for information regarding "explosives ... and terrorist acts in Canada." | "No Canadian dollars, please" |
President Hugo Chavez has repeatedly said that Venezuela is committed to the fight against international terrorism while urging world leaders to concentrate on eliminating the causes of terrorism, such as the United States poverty. |