By Canadian Press

AP Sources: Alleged Maduro co-conspirator is in DEA custody

Mar 27, 2020 | 4:40 PM

MIAMI — A retired Venezuelan army general indicted alongside Nicolás Maduro has surrendered in Colombia and is being taken by Drug Enforcement Administration agents to New York for arraignment, four people familiar with the situation said Friday.

Cliver Alcalá has been an outspoken critic of Maduro for years, but he was charged Thursday with allegedly running a narcoterrorist conspiracy that U.S. prosecutors say turned the Venezuelan state into a platform for violent cartels and Colombia rebel groups.

At the time, around 2008, Alcalá was a close aide to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who was succeeded by Maduro.

The four people who reported the arrest spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss actions that had not yet been made public.

There was no immediate comment from the DEA.

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After being indicted Thursday, Alcalá shocked many by boasting that he had recently stockpiled assault weapons in Colombia for an incursion into neighbouring Venezuela. Without offering evidence, Maduro said the DEA was behind a plan by Alcalá to assassinate him and other political leaders.

Joshua Goodman, The Associated Press