"Trafficking in cocaine"....only slightly less hypocritical than gun running.
What do you mean General Noriega cannot come to the phone ?
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| Europe |
| Venezuela's ex-spy chief arrested in Madrid on US warrant |
| 2019-04-13 |
| [Aljazeera] Hugo Carvajal, who had advised Hugo Chavez, recently became the biggest military figure to declare loyalty to Guaido. Venezuela's longtime spy chief was arrested Friday in Madrid by Spanish police acting on a United States warrant for allegedly trafficking tons of cocaine. Hugo Carvajal, who for more than a decade advised late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and headed the country's security apparatus, recently became the most influential military figure to declare his loyalty to opposition leader Juan Guaido. The opposition saw Carvajal's criticism of Venezuela's current government as a possible stimulus to prod other military figures to defect, but the country's armed forces have remained largely loyal to current President Nicolas Maduro. Friday's arrest is a result of a 2014 indictment by the Southern District of New York in which the US Attorney's Office accuses Carvajal of having "coordinated the transportation of approximately 5,600 kilograms of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico" in 2006. A spokeswoman with Spain's National Court, which handles extradition cases, said that Carvajal would testify on Saturday before Judge Alejandro Abascal in Madrid. He can either accept the extradition to the United States or fight it before the court, explained the official, who wasn't authorised to be identified by name in media reports. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #5 Hugo (Pollo, the chicken) and chavista seems to have an interesting past: According to ABC, "Last time he was arrested (2014), the Obama administration let him slip away. I hope the U.S. government won't let that happen again." |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2019-04-13 15:20 |
| #4 "Trafficking in cocaine"....only slightly less hypocritical than gun running. What do you mean General Noriega cannot come to the phone ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2019-04-13 07:30 |
| #3 We've been through this before, it wasn't pretty. Lessons learned or unlearned? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2019-04-13 07:22 |
| #2 It does create a problem because leading Venezuelan military figures might be less inclined to switch sides. Guaidós amnesty promises won't be worth much if former Maduro loyalists, who crossed over, face legal problems in the U.S. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2019-04-13 06:26 |
| #1 Tell us what you know Hugo my friend, and all of these ridiculous drug charges will vanish. By the way, welcome to the United States. Carvajal, head of military intelligence from 2004 to 2008, denounced Chavez’ successor Maduro in February and gave his support to Juan Guaido, who in January invoked the constitution to become Venezuela’s interim president. Guaido was later recognized by the United States and dozens of governments, but Maduro remains in office with support of the military and has denounced Guaido as a U.S. puppet. Guaido has offered amnesty to military leaders who took his side. Carvajal recently said on Twitter that he would relay all the information he knows to the appropriate authorities, the senior U.S. administration official said. “We look forward to receiving that information and to learning everything he knows … about how Maduro and his mafia operate,” the official said. Washington expects to learn more about Maduro’s ties to Cuba, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the official said. SRN News Link |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2019-04-13 01:27 |