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(CNN Spanish) - Former Colombian congresswoman Aída Merlano was arrested in Maracaibo by the Special Actions Forces (FAES) of Venezuela, according to the Ministry of Interior and Justice of that country.
Merlano has been a fugitive from Colombian justice since October 2019, when she escaped from a dental office located on a third floor in Bogotá. There he had come from jail to attend an appointment, but he hung out the window with the help of a rope. Two weeks earlier, Merlano had been sentenced to 15 years in prison for a concert to commit crimes, corruption to the suffrager as co-author and illegal possession of weapons.
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Venezuelan authorities reported that Aida Merlano entered Venezuela illegally with a man of Colombian nationality and will now be made available to the Public Ministry.
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# 27Ene | After arduous investigations carried out by our Faes officials, former Senator Aida Merlano was arrested in the El Milagro sector of the city of Maracaibo, Zulia state; who entered the Venezuelan territory illegally in the company of an undocumented Colombian citizen. Both were transferred and placed at the order of the Public Ministry. . #Venezuela #Faes # SomosGaranteíaDePaz
A post shared by MPPRIJP (@mijpvenezuela) on Jan 27, 2020 at 4:24 pm PST
The Colombian Ministry of Justice informed that, having no diplomatic relations with the questioned government of Nicolás Maduro, he will wait for a judge to request the extradition of Aída Merlano and the National Government will request it from Juan Guaidó, whom he recognizes as interim president from Venezuela Juan Guaidó.
Bladimir Cuadro, lawyer of Aída Merlano in Colombia, said Tuesday in Barranquilla that “he does not know the route that the Venezuelan government will take (…). That is, if you are going to be deported, extradited and prosecuted in the neighboring country. ”
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Table said that it has not had communication with any Colombian or Venezuelan authority about the capture of the Colombian ex-senator and that they are waiting for the decision of the Venezuelan government to initiate their defense efforts.
He also said that he had communicated this Monday with the daughter of the former congresswoman, Aída Victoria, who told him that no family member has been able to contact Merlano nor have they been able to verify his whereabouts.
Aida Merlano