Versión Español
Spanish – After letting him escape, the Spanish government ratified the extradition of Hugo Carvajal, Venezuela’s former head of military intelligence, who evaded international justice and is currently absconding.
On Tuesday, March 3, the Spanish Council of Ministers explained that the United States is requesting the extradition of Carvajal because of his participation in the transport of drug shipments in the “Cartel of the Suns” between 1999 and 2019.
#ÚLTIMAHORA | Gobierno de España aprueba extradición a #EEUU de Hugo Carvajal, exjefe de inteligencia chavista, una vez que se sepa su paradero. pic.twitter.com/K60QQXkl4J
— PanAm Post Español (@PanAmPost_es) March 3, 2020
The text points out that Carvajal, who directed Venezuelan military intelligence between 2004 and 2011, allegedly participated in crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and collaborating with the Colombian guerrilla group FARC.
In June 2019, the Council of Ministers agreed to continue the judicial proceedings, and on September 17, 2019, the Third Section of the Criminal Chamber of the National Court ruled to refuse the extradition and released Carvajal; this action allowed the former Venezuelan official to flee.
In November 2019, the Spanish National Court approved Carvajal’s extradition to American soil. However, the government itself has reportedly let him slip past. It was a “suspicious escape” as the Spanish police arrived at Carvajal’s home in Madrid four days after the court decision ordering his extradition to the US was revealed.
In 2015, the South Florida District Attorney’s Office charged Carvajal and one of his subordinates, Pedro Luis Martin Olivares, with the crime of drug trafficking. He was also sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for supporting Colombian guerrilla groups in drug trafficking activities. According to press reports, the investigations revealed that the two had collaborated in the distribution of drugs destined for the United States.
The information disclosed in 2015 points to Carvajal as one of the operators of the Cartel of the Suns, controlled by members of the Venezuelan army alongside senior officials of the regime.
We should remember that in 2014 Carvajal was arrested in Aruba for allegedly organizing the failed shipment of 5.6 tons of drugs. U.S. judicial authorities were seeking to extradite him but desisted after threats from the Chavista regime to send warships to the island. At that time, Maduro argued that Carvajal had diplomatic status, and later received him in the South American country as a hero.
A crucial man
The retired general has confidential intelligence information inside the regime. In fact, he said on Twitter that he gave evidence to international justice about what is happening in Venezuela.
Carvajal knows where the main leaders of Chavismo involved in drug trafficking and human rights violations are located; he knows how Cubans operate around Maduro and the weak points of the Venezuelan dictatorship. He also knows who the front men for the leaders of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) are and their assets abroad. Moreover, he has information on the terrorist groups that are active in Venezuela and those financed by the regime across the Americas.
