Venezuelan Walid Makled Garcia, branded a “Major Kingpin” by the US government last year was arrested in Columbia on Friday. Makled is said to have accumulated a fortune by working with the Columbian rebels FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)
Due to Makled’s alliance with the FARC, “they managed to introduce more than 10 tons of drugs a month into the United States and Europe,” Colombian national police director Gen. Oscar Naranjo said.
At the news conference, Naranjo noted that Makled is eventually to be extradited to the US for appearance in a New York court. Venezuelan prosecutors were quick to announce that they are also seeking extradition of Makled for charges in two murder investigations.
An angry Makled proclaimed his innocence and said the accusations are a plot against him. When asked about killings in which he is implicated, he said: “Do I have the face of a killer?”
