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The National Court, the jurisdiction in Spain in charge of extraditions, announced this Friday that it had suspended the delivery of former Venezuelan intelligence officer Hugo “el Pollo” Carvajal to the United States, who is looking for him for alleged drug trafficking.
Madrid (AFP)
Before an appeal by Carvajal’s defense, the National High Court determined that there was a formal defect in a previous judicial order of the court itself, for which “it has agreed to suspend the materialization of the delivery to the United States” of the retired general until correct this error, he said in a statement on October 22.
The extradition process of Carvajal from Spain, which has suffered several shocks including the escape of the suspect, who spent almost two years on the run, is again paralyzed, just two days after the National Court indicated that his shipment to the North American country was imminent. .
On Wednesday, the court, based in Madrid, ordered to make effective “the delivery of the Venezuelan military man Hugo Armando ‘el Pollo’ Carvajal to the United States once the denial” of the asylum he requested in Spain has been finalized.
The court did not specify how long it could take to correct the error for the process to get back on track.
After being close to Chavismo, Carvajal was repudiated by Maduro for his support of Guidó
Head of the Venezuelan intelligence services under the presidency of the late Hugo Chávez (1999-2013), Carvajal was arrested in September in Madrid after spending almost two years on the run to avoid his extradition, initially approved by the National Court in November 2019.
To evade authorities, the 61-year-old retired general underwent cosmetic surgery, wore mustaches and fake wigs and changed addresses every three months, according to Spanish police.
After being a leading figure in Chavismo, Carvajal was repudiated by the government of Nicolás Maduro after having publicly supported the opposition Juan Guaidó, when he proclaimed himself president of Venezuela in February 2019.
Then, he left by boat to the Dominican Republic and then flew to Spain, where he was arrested in April 2019 at the request of the United States, which accuses him of having belonged with other high Chavez officials to the so-called Cartel of the Suns, which he would have trafficked. drugs with the former Colombian guerrilla of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
A New York court charged Carvajal in 2011 with coordinating the shipment of 5.6 tons of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico in 2006, which later reached the United States. You could be sentenced to up to life imprisonment.
In addition, Carvajal is called to testify on October 27 by a judge of the National High Court, as a witness to “collaborate” with the Spanish justice in other cases related to Venezuela.
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