Former Venezuelan military intelligence chief Hugo “Pollo” Carvajal, extradited from Spain, pleaded “not guilty” in his first appearance before a judge in a New York court, AFP found.
The one who was a trusted man of the late President Hugo Chávez declared himself “not guilty” through his lawyer to the charges of narcoterrorism, drug trafficking and arms of which the US justice system accuses him, during a hearing in the southern federal court in Manhattan before Judge Stewart Aaron.
Carvajal, 63, who attended the hearing in civilian clothes, was detained but his lawyers announced that they will request bail for their client “when we can.”
Meanwhile, they asked the judge to allow him to get to the medicines he takes for his health problems.
The next court hearing is scheduled for July 25.
The main lawyer, Zachary Margulis, affirmed that Carvajal is “categorically innocent” of the charges brought against him by the US justice, and that if found guilty, they could lead him to spend the rest of his days in jail.
“In the 15 years since the (George W.) Bush administration focused on General Carvajal, no tangible evidence linking him to any crime has been made public,” Margulis told reporters after the hearing, reading a statement she had previously distributed.
“Unlike most federal drug cases, the government has not shown evidence,” said the lawyer, who pointed out that it has been based on “false and uncorroborated statements by desperate drug traffickers and corrupt former Venezuelan officials with personal and professional grudges.”
The defense said that unlike other cases such as that of the former Mexican Secretary of Internal Security, Genaro García Luna, recently tried in New York and found guilty of drug trafficking (his conviction has yet to be announced), in Carvajal’s “there is no evidence of unexplained wealth.”
“Without money, there are no motivations,” he maintained, although he assured that “he will have a fair trial,” after assuring that his client “is not cooperating” with the investigation by the US prosecutor’s office “because he is innocent.”
Upon pleading not guilty, the detainee will have to stand trial, on a date to be determined, where he will be tried by a popular jury.
The prosecution accuses Carvajal of “approving his authority as director of Venezuela’s military intelligence (DIM) to corrupt Venezuelan institutions, abuse Venezuelans and import poison into the United States.”
Likewise, it accuses the ex-military officer of having been one of the leaders, along with other high-ranking Venezuelan officials, of the Los Soles cartel, since at least 1999.
After being a weighty figure of Chavismo, Carvajal was repudiated by the government of President Nicolás Maduro after having publicly supported opposition figure Juan Guaidó, when he proclaimed himself president of Venezuela in February 2019.
In Venezuela, the authorities accused him of treason, continued conspiracy, financing of terrorism and criminal association.
The head of Parliament, the powerful Chavista leader Jorge Rodríguez, asked the United States on Wednesday to hand him over to be tried in the country.
The Venezuelan arrived in New York from Spain, where he fought against the extradition requested by the US authorities, since he was first arrested in April 2019.