Former Venezuela justice Eladio Aponte Aponte could provide valuable information in a federal drug and corruption investigation, sources said.
BY ANTONIO MARIA DELGADO AND JAY WEAVER
jweaver@MiamiHerald.com
A former Venezuelan Supreme Court justice flown by federal agents to the United States is likely to be a trove of valuable information for U.S. authorities investigating the nexus of cocaine, payoffs and corruption in the government of President Hugo Chávez.
Ex-Judge Eladio Aponte Aponte, who’s associated with a Venezuelan kingpin facing indictment in New York, is expected to supply the Drug Enforcement Administration with the names of high-level suspects in the cocaine trade, Chávez government and its military, according to sources familiar with the former justice and other observers.
“Aponte is bringing enough information to prove that Venezuela has become a narco state,” said Johan Peña, a former inspector with Venezuela’s intelligence service who is now exiled in Miami.
“He knows all the crimes being committed by high-ranking officials of the Venezuelan government,” Peña said. “He was a member of the judiciary used by Chávez to hold everybody in check.”
Otto Reich, the former U.S. assistant secretary of state for the western hemisphere, wrote in an editorial that Aponte is “the judge who could convict Chávez.”
Aponte, who left Venezuela for Costa Rica in early April because he feared for his life, was flown out of the Central American country Tuesday night to the United States on a DEA-chartered flight. He stands above other U.S. government witnesses with immunity for one reason: He’s a former high-court judge in Venezuela whose testimony before any federal jury would be trusted far more than that of a typical drug smuggler angling to reduce his sentence in a cooperation deal.
“He gives himself a higher gloss by virtue of his position,” said Miami lawyer David Weinstein, former chief of narcotics in the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “The more sanitized the witness is, the more credible the witness is on the witness stand.”
Weinstein called Aponte a “gold mine” because he would be valuable to various U.S. government agencies that are investigating drug trafficking, money laundering and narco-terrorism in Colombia, Venezuela and other parts of South America.
“The value of [Aponte] is that he was somebody right on the inside of the Venezuelan government,” Weinstein said. “He knows who in the government was involved, how much they were involved and when they were involved.”
Former Miami DEA chief Thomas Raffanello, who investigated convicted ex-Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, agreed with that assessment of Aponte. “It’s not like you’re bringing out another drug cartel figure,” Raffanello said. “You’re bringing out a judge from another country.
“He steps into the circle of people with credibility and knowledge. He would be a first-rate witness, loaded with great information.”
According to sources familiar with Aponte’s insider knowledge, the former Supreme Court justice is pointing the finger at Gen. Henry Rangel Silva, the recently appointed minister of defense whom the U.S. Treasury Department says has worked with the Colombian rebel group, the FARC, in trafficking drugs.
Aponte also fingered Gen. Cliver Alcalá, another military figure sanctioned by the U.S. government for allegedly setting up a drugs-for-gun trade with the FARC, sources said. The former judge also fingered one of Chávez’s closest allies, Diosdado Cabello, president of the Venezuelan National Assembly.
In Venezuela, Aponte was removed from the judiciary in March after evidence surfaced that he assisted accused drug trafficker Walid Makled by giving him a fake credential that said he was a member of his staff and allowed him safe passage anywhere in the country.
Aponte was once in charge of assigning judges in Venezuela’s border states with Colombia, where Makled and other traffickers arranged for loads of cocaine to be flown from clandestine airstrips to locations in Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
Makled, a Venezuelan who was indicted on drug-smuggling charges in New York in 2010, was arrested that year in Colombia. After his arrest, he gave televised news interviews in which he said he doled out millions of dollars to Venezuelan government, military and police officials to protect his shipments of cocaine.
Although the U.S. Department of Justice sought his extradition, the Colombians turned Makled over to the Venezuelan government. Makled is standing trial on drug charges there.
His Miami attorney, Robert Abreu, said Makled could be acquitted in Venezuela and avoid extradition to the United States.
Abreu told The Miami Herald that Aponte, the former judge, appears to validate the “sensational” statements made by his client after his 2010 arrest. He also said Aponte could play a much greater role in assisting U.S. authorities in probes of Venezuelan officials linked to that country’s drug trade.
“He could be more valuable than my client, because he comes in clean,” Abreu said. “He doesn’t have this allegation of drug trafficking hanging over him.”
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Ex-Judge Eladio Aponte Aponte, who’s associated with a Venezuelan kingpin facing indictment in New York, is expected to supply the Drug Enforcement Administration with the names of high-level suspects in the cocaine trade, Chávez government and its military, according to sources familiar with the former justice and other observers.
“Aponte is bringing enough information to prove that Venezuela has become a narco state,” said Johan Peña, a former inspector with Venezuela’s intelligence service who is now exiled in Miami.
“He knows all the crimes being committed by high-ranking officials of the Venezuelan government,” Peña said. “He was a member of the judiciary used by Chávez to hold everybody in check.”
Otto Reich, the former U.S. assistant secretary of state for the western hemisphere, wrote in an editorial that Aponte is “the judge who could convict Chávez.”
Aponte, who left Venezuela for Costa Rica in early April because he feared for his life, was flown out of the Central American country Tuesday night to the United States on a DEA-chartered flight. He stands above other U.S. government witnesses with immunity for one reason: He’s a former high-court judge in Venezuela whose testimony before any federal jury would be trusted far more than that of a typical drug smuggler angling to reduce his sentence in a cooperation deal.
“He gives himself a higher gloss by virtue of his position,” said Miami lawyer David Weinstein, former chief of narcotics in the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “The more sanitized the witness is, the more credible the witness is on the witness stand.”
Weinstein called Aponte a “gold mine” because he would be valuable to various U.S. government agencies that are investigating drug trafficking, money laundering and narco-terrorism in Colombia, Venezuela and other parts of South America.
“The value of [Aponte] is that he was somebody right on the inside of the Venezuelan government,” Weinstein said. “He knows who in the government was involved, how much they were involved and when they were involved.”
Former Miami DEA chief Thomas Raffanello, who investigated convicted ex-Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, agreed with that assessment of Aponte. “It’s not like you’re bringing out another drug cartel figure,” Raffanello said. “You’re bringing out a judge from another country.
“He steps into the circle of people with credibility and knowledge. He would be a first-rate witness, loaded with great information.”
According to sources familiar with Aponte’s insider knowledge, the former Supreme Court justice is pointing the finger at Gen. Henry Rangel Silva, the recently appointed minister of defense whom the U.S. Treasury Department says has worked with the Colombian rebel group, the FARC, in trafficking drugs.
Aponte also fingered Gen. Cliver Alcalá, another military figure sanctioned by the U.S. government for allegedly setting up a drugs-for-gun trade with the FARC, sources said. The former judge also fingered one of Chávez’s closest allies, Diosdado Cabello, president of the Venezuelan National Assembly.
In Venezuela, Aponte was removed from the judiciary in March after evidence surfaced that he assisted accused drug trafficker Walid Makled by giving him a fake credential that said he was a member of his staff and allowed him safe passage anywhere in the country.
Aponte was once in charge of assigning judges in Venezuela’s border states with Colombia, where Makled and other traffickers arranged for loads of cocaine to be flown from clandestine airstrips to locations in Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
Makled, a Venezuelan who was indicted on drug-smuggling charges in New York in 2010, was arrested that year in Colombia. After his arrest, he gave televised news interviews in which he said he doled out millions of dollars to Venezuelan government, military and police officials to protect his shipments of cocaine.
Although the U.S. Department of Justice sought his extradition, the Colombians turned Makled over to the Venezuelan government. Makled is standing trial on drug charges there.
His Miami attorney, Robert Abreu, said Makled could be acquitted in Venezuela and avoid extradition to the United States.
Abreu told The Miami Herald that Aponte, the former judge, appears to validate the “sensational” statements made by his client after his 2010 arrest. He also said Aponte could play a much greater role in assisting U.S. authorities in probes of Venezuelan officials linked to that country’s drug trade.
“He could be more valuable than my client, because he comes in clean,” Abreu said. “He doesn’t have this allegation of drug trafficking hanging over him.”
http://www.miamiherald.com/
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