01 April 2011

COLOMBIA / VENEZUELA/ USA: Chavez...NOT The USA...May Get Narco Kingpin Makled From Santos.

WSJ / J.de Cordoba

    In a long, front-page feature...with an inside jump and fotos, de Cordoba describes how the USA is losing-out on the extradiction of notorious cocaine Walid "The Turk" Makled Garcia, aka " the king among kingpins", from Colombia to Venezuela.
    Why is that important?
    Because U.S. officials claim Makled smuggled 10 tons of cocaine monthly into the U.S. from Venezuela.
   And Makled claims that some 40 Venezuelan generals and top officials...were on his payroll.
   Makled is currently held in Colombia.
   But President Santos has chosen to return him to Venezuela...instead of the USA.
   Makled is like the sword of Damocles hanging over Chavez's head," says professor Bruce Bagley.
   And Santos got a payday in his attempt to reset rocky relations with Hugo Chavez and return Makled to Caracas and NOT the U.S.
   Shortly after Santos promised to hand over Makled, Chavez paid $500 million of an estimated $900 million owed by Venezuela...to Colombian firms.