Venezuela nabs suspected Colombian cocaine kingpin
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan authorities have arrested a suspected drug lord and arms smuggler with paramilitary links wanted in the United States on charges of trafficking cocaine, a television station reported on Sunday.
Venezuela's national guard arrested Hermagoras Gonzalez close to the border with Colombia on Saturday, the television station Globovision reported.
The U.S. State Department offers a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Gonzalez, known as "Fatty Gonzalez," who it accuses of sending large quantities of cocaine into America, including 9 tonnes in just one year.
The State Department says Gonzalez ran the Guajira cartel in Colombia and smuggled arms from Europe through Venezuela to support the activities of a paramilitary group fighting Marxist guerrillas in Colombia.
Washington frequently accuses the left-wing government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of not doing enough to stop Colombian cartels moving cocaine through Venezuelan territory.
Chavez cut off cooperation with U.S. anti-drug officials in 2005 over accusations of espionage.
He has since refused to sign an anti-drug cooperation agreement with Washington, although Venezuela frequently extradites Colombians accused of drug crimes to the United States.
Gonzalez's lawyer, Freddy Ferrer, said his client was born in Venezuela and under Venezuelan law could not be extradited to the United States.
"It is an illegal and illegitimate arrest," Ferrer told Globovision.
The State Department says Gonzalez is Colombian.
(Reporting by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Eric Beech)
