Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

Venezuela says arrests suspected U.S. drugs agent
29 May 2008 20:52:19 GMT
 Source: Reuters
CARACAS, May 29 (Reuters) - Venezuela said on Thursday it arrested a man who identified himself as a U.S. anti-drugs agent, which if confirmed could inflame tensions between the United States and one of its biggest oil suppliers.

President Hugo Chavez in 2005 ended cooperation with the the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), saying the agency was spying on him. The United States denied the charge and says Chavez does too little to stop trafficking from neighboring Colombia, the world's largest cocaine exporter.

Gen. Gabriel Oviedo said the man was acting suspicious when he was detained close to the border with Colombia while bearing Canadian and French passports and a Venezuelan identity card.

"The official at the scene proceeded to interrogate him and he said he was a DEA agent," Oviedo told state television.

The U.S. Embassy in Caracas said it had no knowledge of the arrest.

Relations have deteriorated since a failed 2002 coup against Chavez that Washington initially welcomed.

Tensions increased this month. The United States said new evidence of Chavez's ties to Colombian rebels was troubling, while the leftist charged a U.S. military jet that entered Venezuelan airspace was spying on the OPEC nation. (Reporting by Carlos Rodriguez and Brian Ellsworth; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Saul Hudson and Eric Walsh)


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

NGO latest

•  UMCOR Hotline for May 27, 2008
UMCOR - USA

•  CWS responds to devastating spring storms
CWS

•  World Concern Reports Positive Changes in Myanmar
World Concern - USA

•  AIR SERV INTERNATIONAL MYANMAR RESPONSE UPDATE
Air Serv International

•  Gates Foundation awards $1 million to World Vision for Emergency Relief Efforts in Myanmar
WV - USA

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Venezuela says arrests suspected U.S. drugs agent

•  Fox News worker sues over bedbugs in NY office

•  Pentagon, veterans face off over education benefit

•  Russia wants Georgia separatists at UN council

•  INTERVIEW-Chertoff keen on Israeli airport security technology

MORE >>

AlertNet news is provided by

Related articles

Breaking stories
Venezuela says arrests suspected U.S. drugs agent (1 minute ago)

Fox News worker sues over bedbugs in NY office (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
Donors to thrash out climate change funding row (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
UMCOR Hotline for May 27, 2008 (1 minute ago)

Blogs
Global terrorism decreasing (1 minute ago)

Maps
MAP: Global flood locations week ending April 11 ,2008 (1 minute ago)


Country information

Facts & figures
Venezuela United States of America France Canada

Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-05-28T022154Z_01_CAR01_RTRIDSP_2_SPORT-VENEZUELA-LIGHTNING_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/CAR01.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-05-16T202525Z_01_CAR12_RTRIDSP_2_VENEZUELA-COCOA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/CAR12.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-05-16T202249Z_01_CAR07_RTRIDSP_2_VENEZUELA-COCOA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/CAR07.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-05-16T201911Z_01_CAR10_RTRIDSP_2_VENEZUELA-COCOA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/CAR10.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-05-16T194928Z_01_CAR11_RTRIDSP_2_VENEZUELA-COCOA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/CAR11.htm

Relatives mourn over the coffin of former Major League baseball player Geremi Gonzalez in Maracaibo, May 27, 2008. Gonzalez was struck by lightning and killed over the weekend at a lake ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Thu May 29 20:49:14 2008