Spain has extradited to the United States the former head of Venezuelan intelligence Hugo ‘El Pollo’ Carvajal after the National Court (AN) ordered Interpol his “immediate delivery” to the North American country. Legal sources have confirmed to Europa Press that ‘El Pollo’ is on a plane bound for the United States, which claims him for alleged crimes of drug and arms trafficking.
The AN activated its delivery this Tuesday after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled out that he could suffer a violation of his fundamental rights on US soil.
Specifically, the Third Section of the Criminal Chamber of the AN ordered Carvajal to be handed over, requesting that communicate its decision to the Embassy of the United States in Madrid and the director of the Estremera (Madrid) prison, where he was being held.
This was the last episode in the extradition of carvajalwhich was last discontinued in March 2022 in compliance with the precautionary measure granted by the ECtHR while waiting for it to rule on the lawsuit filed by his defense. On July 13, Strasbourg dismissed it, considering that ‘El Pollo’ failed to prove that he ran “a real risk” of being sentenced to an “irreducible” life sentence.
The defense alleged that, if handed over and tried by US courts, he could suffer a violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, according to which “no one may be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment.” However, the ECtHR ruled it out on the understanding that the United States has “a judicial system that respects the rule of law and the principles of due process”.