General
Colombia faces hassle over extradition of former congresswoman from Venezuela
Colombia is planning to ask Venezuela’s opposition to extradite a former Colombian congresswoman who was jailed for electoral fraud and staged a spectacular escape in 2019.
“Colombia does not recognise and does not have relations with the dictatorial regime of President Nicolas Maduro, we, therefore, need to request extradition from the government of Juan Guaido,’’ the Justice Ministry tweeted on Tuesday.
Opposition leader Guaido, who is currently on an international tour, declared himself interim president a year ago and won the recognition of dozens of countries, including Colombia.
But he has been unable to wrestle power from Maduro, who has the support of the army and whose police arrested the legislator, Aida Merlano.
Miguel Dominguez, the director of the Venezuelan elite police unit FAES, on Monday, announced the capture of the former congresswoman in the north-eastern city of Maracaibo, where she was reportedly living under a false identity.
But the Colombian Justice Ministry said it was still waiting for official confirmation from Interpol that she has been arrested.
Colombia had issued an international arrest warrant for Merlano, who had been sentenced to 15 years in prison for buying votes in the 2018 elections in which she was elected to the Senate for the Conservative Party.
In October, Merlano was taken to a dental clinic, where she climbed out of a second-storey window, slid down on a rope and escaped on a motorcycle which had been waiting for her.
Guaido did not immediately comment on the extradition request with which, Colombian observers said, the opposition has no power to comply.
NAN
-
News17 hours ago
Labour unions demand immediate reversal of electricity tariff hike
-
Politics22 hours ago
May Day: Edo LP guber candidate Akpata vows to prioritize welfare
-
News16 hours ago
Father, son abducted in Ondo released
-
Entertainment19 hours ago
Nigerian lady attempts GWR for longest time spent painting nails
-
Metro23 hours ago
FG offers free train rides on Port Harcourt-Aba railway
-
News17 hours ago
New minimum wage to take effect May 1, 2024 – FG
-
News21 hours ago
19 dead as highway collapse in Guandong, China
-
News21 hours ago
Nigerian-trained general appointed Liberia’s top security chief