Posts
Saying he must keep a promise he made to President Hugo Chavez, Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos will extradite Walid Makled, 41, an alleged Venezuelan drug kingpin arrested earlier this year to Venezuela...and not the USA where he is also wanted.
Makled is accused of smuggling tons of cocaine into the US and claims he paid millions of dollars to senior officials in the Venezuelan government. "If I am a drug trafficker, then so are all these people from high government", he said. Known as "the Turk" or "the Arab," he is one of the most wanted drug traffickers in the world.
There was strong reaction in the U.S. from Rep Connie Mack, ( R.Fla). He accused the Obama administration of "a complete dropping of the ball" in a case that would have "shined the light on a lot of bad behavior by Hugo Chavez and his government. I think that we will lose vital information."
FOR EVEN MORE DETAIL, SEE AP:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gBUExj_waZyQmlQ3WyS9-I_CIjaA?docId=746a6110f5154fe596ef1efed44d2e62
LATEST UPDATE 18 NOV.: Perhaps playing tit-for-tat after the Makled surrender, Venezuela deported three suspected rebels to Colombia in another sign of improving relations. One allegedly is a FARC member while the other two are from the ELN.
FOR MORE DETAILS, SEE:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11782613
