Spain: Venezuelan spymaster loses court extradition dispute

FILE - In this Sept. 15, 2019 file photo, former Venezuelan military spy chief, retired Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal, walks out of prison in Estremera on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain. Carvajal, who for over a decade was Hugo Chavezs eyes and ears in the military, was arrested by police in Madrid in a hideout apartment Thursday night, Sept. 9. 2021. The decision followed an earlier ruling, by a high court magistrate, throwing out a U.S. arrest warrant for being politically motivated. In the interim, Carvajal was released and never heard from again except for a brief statement on social media last year where he said he went underground to protest what he saw as political interference in his case. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File) (Manu Fernandez, Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

MADRID – Spain’s Supreme Court refused Monday to suspend a government decision allowing a former Venezuelan spymaster to be extradited to the United States.

Lawyers for Gen. Hugo Carvajal, who for over a decade was late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez’s eyes and ears in the Venezuelan military, asked the court to put the Spanish government decision — taken 18 months ago — on hold.

Recommended Videos



But the Supreme Court said in its written decision that Carvajal had presented no new arguments against the government decision, which he had already opposed at the court in May last year.

Carvajal's extradition procedure is currently on hold at the National Court, after he filed a request for asylum in Spain.

Nicknamed “El Pollo,' or “The Chicken”, Carvajal was arrested Sept. 9 in a small apartment in Madrid, where he had been holed up for months. His arrest came nearly two years after Carvajal defied a Spanish extradition order and disappeared.

In the United States, he faces federal charges for allegedly working with guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to “flood” the U.S. with cocaine.