2023-07-21 16:02:21
Former Venezuelan military intelligence chief Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal was extradited from Spain and appeared in a New York court on Thursday. During the hearing, he pleaded “not guilty” to the charges of narcoterrorism, drug trafficking and weapons presented by the US justice system.
The man, who used to be a confidant of the late President Hugo Chávez, requested that he undergo a medical analysis, and the judge granted this request. Another appearance was scheduled for July 25.
Carvajal faces charges of conspiring to introduce cocaine into the United States, as well as the use and possession of firearms in connection with these crimes. If he is found guilty of any of these four charges, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The US Attorney’s Office claims to have evidence of his involvement in sending a shipment of 5.6 tons of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico in 2006. In addition, the US government has charged him along with Nicolás Maduro, dictator of Venezuela, and Diosdado Cabello, leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), for their alleged participation in a corrupt and violent narco-terrorist conspiracy with the Los Soles Cartel and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces). from Colombia).
Carvajal, who fled Venezuela with a false passport in 2019, spent more than two years in preventive detention in Spain due to the risk of flight. His whereabouts were unknown for almost two years, between 2019 and 2021, but he was finally arrested in Madrid in September 2021.
Since his arrest, Carvajal has tried to prevent his surrender to the United States, requesting asylum in Spain and presenting challenges to the judicial decisions against him. However, he was eventually extradited to the United States.
(ecuadorenvivo.com)
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