Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Spanish court rules to extradite Venezuela spy chief to US

A Spanish court has ordered the extradition of a former Venezuelan spy chief to the United States where he is wanted on charges of drug trafficking and belonging to a terror organization

Via AP news wire
Wednesday 20 October 2021 15:54 BST
US Spain Venezuela
US Spain Venezuela (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A Spanish court on Wednesday ordered the extradition of a former Venezuelan spy chief to the United States where he is wanted on charges of drug trafficking and belonging to a terror organization.

Retired Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal, who for more than a decade advised the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez before breaking with his successor, had been resisting extradition since he was arrested in Spain in April 2019.

Carvajal had avoided extradition to the U.S. when he was picked up in Aruba in 2014 on the same New York indictment that Spanish authorities acted on. He returned to Venezuela after slipping the grasp of authorities and was received as a hero.

But he eventually broke with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, throwing his support behind the opposition to Maduro's Socialist regime. He then left Venezuela for good.

Prosecutors in New York allege that Carvajal used his high office to coordinate the smuggling of approximately 5,600 kilograms of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico in 2006.

Carvajal also allegedly provided weapons to armed FARC guerrillas in Colombia, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, and helped fund the group’s activities by facilitating shipments of large amounts of U.S.-bound cocaine through Venezuela.

Spain's National Court said police and Spain’s penitentiary services will be in charge of his transfer to the U.S. No date was given.

Last week the National Court ordered the extradition of Chávez’s former nurse, who is charged in Miami with money laundering.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in