CARACAS (Reuters) – The presidents of Venezuela and Colombia announced yesterday the capture of one of the region’s most-wanted drug traffickers and hailed it as evidence of unity against crime between the ideologically opposed governments.
Maximiliano Bonilla Orozco — a 39-year-old Colombian better known by his alias Valenciano — was captured in the Venezuelan city of Valencia late on Sunday, the two leaders said at a meeting in Caracas.
Valenciano, with a $5 million bounty on his head, is accused of shipping tonnes of cocaine into the United States with the help of gangs like Mexico’s Zetas.
“He’s caused terrible damage to our country,” Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said, adding that Valenciano was the leader of a group called the Paisas, as residents of northwestern Colombia are known.
“What a coincidence that they caught him last night so today we can give this magnificent news … Thank you, President Chavez. This is a good present.”
Though the conservative Santos is a key US ally in the region and Venezuelan socialist leader Hugo Chavez is Washington’s fiercest critic, the pair have overturned years of mistrust and forged a strong, albeit pragmatic, relationship since last year.
Colombia has in the past accused the Chavez government of giving refuge to Marxist guerrillas, and analysts believe Venezuela has at least turned a blind eye over the years.
Venezuela also has become a major shipment route for Colombian cocaine to the United States and European nations.
But since Santos came to power in August 2010, both men have set aside their ideological differences and stressed the need for cooperation in a border region infested by rebels, traffickers and other criminal bands.
Colombia is hoping for Venezuelan help in tracking down the new leader of the FARC rebels, Timoleon “Timochenko” Jimenez, who is believed to move across the border.
“We will never allow the violation of our sovereignty by any group or person, be they traffickers, guerrillas or paramilitaries,” Chavez said in a joint news conference by the pair at his Miraflores presidential palace.
“We will do everything in our power to stop any aggression against Colombia … We are grateful for the frank, transparent collaboration that has been restarted in security matters.”
Chavez said that Valenciano was caught with “millions of bolivars” of Venezuelan currency and was being transported to the capital Caracas.
