Former head of military intelligence for Venezuela will be extradited to the US

The former head of military intelligence for the Venezuelan regime, Hugo Carvajal, will be extradited to the United States from Spain.

Hugo Armando “El Pollo” Carvajal was the head of military intelligence under Hugo Chavez from July 2004 until December 2011. He is wanted by Washington for events that took place from 1999 to 2019 when he belonged to the criminal organization Cartel of the Suns. The organization, led by Diosdado Cabello, is accused of collaborating with the Colombian FARC and other armed groups to introduce large quantities of drugs to the U.S.

After his arrest in Spain in September, a high court ruled that Carvajal should be extradited to the U.S. in October. Carvajal appealed to the Supreme Court of Spain against the decision to extradite him.

The appeal was filed by his defense team against the procedural guarantees offered by the U.S. and approved by Spain. The guarantees had previously rejected a request that Carvajal not be sentenced to life in prison.

The Supreme Court rejected the appeal, claiming they believe in the guarantees provided by the United States. There is “no objective data” that he would be tortured by Washington after he surrenders, said the court.

The magistrates of the Spanish court said that Carvajal’s defense allegations “do not undermine the reasoning of the court on the basis that the guarantee provided by the authorities of the United States of America, through its Embassy, is sufficient,” reported Infobae.

The court emphasized that the commitment on behalf of the U.S. is “sufficient in order to prevent life imprisonment from being an inhumane punishment.”

In 2019, Carvajal fled from Venezuela after being stripped of his rank for supporting President Nicholas Maduro’s opponent.

Carvajal was on the run for almost two years, until his arrest on September 9 in Madrid. He live “in total seclusion, without going outside or looking out the window, and was always protected by the people he trusted,” said the police. He would change his hiding place every three months and even resorted to cosmetic surgery to hide.

Carvajal has denied all accusations linking him to drug trafficking or FARC.