Venezuela has captured a suspected Colombian drug smuggler who is wanted on cocaine charges in the United States and who has allegedly collaborated with Mexico's Zetas drug gang, the justice minister said Thursday.
Tareck El Aissami held up the arrest of Luis Frank Tello Candelo, 47, better known as "El Negro Frank," as proof of Venezuela's determination to combat organized crime and drug trafficking.
Officials at the US Embassy in Caracas did not immediately answer telephone calls seeking comment.
El Aissami did not provide details regarding Tello Candelo's purported ties to the Zetas, initially formed by an elite group of Mexican soldiers who deserted to become hit men for the Gulf Cartel. The Zetas have since turned to drug trafficking and are fighting their former allies.
Venezuela is a major hub for traffickers smuggling Colombian cocaine to the United States and Europe. US officials have repeatedly accused President Hugo Chavez's government of not doing enough to stem the flow of Colombian cocaine through the South American nation.
Washington has even accused Venezuela of collaborating with Colombian rebel groups that profit from drug trafficking, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and the National Liberation Army.
Venezuela counters that it's doing everything possible to curb drug smuggling.
El Aissami said Venezuela is "a victim" of narcotics trafficking from Colombia - the world's No. 1 cocaine producer - to the United States, the top consumer of illegal drugs.
Authorities have seized close to 30 metric tons of illegal drugs so far this year and captured 10 powerful traffickers, El Aissami added.
- AP
Venezuela captures drug suspect
Photo / Martin Sykes.
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