A Guardia Civil van believed to be taking Venezuelan Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal to prison leaves the National Court in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, April 13, 2019 after an extradition hearing. Venezuela's longtime spy chief has been arrested in Madrid by Spanish police acting on a United States warrant for allegedly trafficking tons of cocaine. Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal, who for more than a decade advised late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and headed the country's security apparatus, recently became the most influential military figure to declare his loyalty to opposition leader Juan Guaido. (AP Photo/Paul White)
April 13, 2019 - 9:42 AM
BARCELONA, Spain - A spokesman for a Spanish court says Venezuela's former spy chief has refused to be extradited to the United States on a drug warrant.
The spokesman, who isn't authorized to be identified by name in the media, says retired Venezuelan Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal on Saturday denied links to drug trafficking when he appeared before a Spanish judge in Madrid.
The judge ruled that Carvajal should be kept in custody while a U.S. extradition request for him is considered by a court.
Prosecutors in New York allege in an indictment that Carvajal used his high office to co-ordinate the smuggling of some 5,600 kilograms of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico in 2006.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019