The former head of Venezuelan military intelligence Hugo Carvajal disappeared in Spain as soon as a Spanish court approved his extradition to the United States, Spanish media reported.
Police officers have been tracing a man for several days. It is noted that after a court decision last Friday, on November 8, bailiffs went to the Carvajal house in Madrid, but did not find him there.
In mid-September, a Spanish court refused a request for Karvajal’s extradition to the United States and decided to release him from custody. However, on November 8, the Spanish National Judicial Panel granted the appeal of the prosecutor’s office and allowed the extradition of the former head of Venezuelan military intelligence to the United States.
Carvajal was arrested in April 2019 in Madrid at Washington’s request. He was charged with a drug-trafficking offence. Carvajal led Venezuela’s military intelligence during the presidency of Hugo Chavez.
In 2014, Carvajal was appointed consul on the southern Caribbean island of Aruba and is a member of the Dutch Federation. He was arrested on the island a few months later at the request of the United States on drug-related charges because the Netherlands had not recognized his diplomatic status.
In protest of this arrest, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro closed airspace for aircraft from Aruba and Curacao for several hours. A few days later, Carvajal was released from custody and allowed him to fly in a private plane to Venezuela, thereby allowing him to avoid extradition to the United States.
After Carvajal announced his support for the Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, Maduro stripped him of the rank of Major General, accusing him of high treason. After that, Carvajal moved to Spain.
