Presumed DEA Official Arrested in Venezuela
Venezuelan National Guard officials arrested a man in western Venezuela on Thursday, who says he works for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
May 30, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com)—Venezuelan National Guard officials arrested a man in western Venezuela on Thursday, who says he works for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The individual, when first stopped at a military checkpoint known as Orope, presented a Canadian passport. However, upon being searched because he was acting suspiciously, officers discovered a French passport and a Venezuelan ID card on him.
Under questioning, the person said he works for the DEA, but is traveling privately to the city of Maracaibo.
According to Venezuelan news sources, the individual was then taken to a prison in western Venezuela, where he will be investigated.
Asked about the incident, a DEA spokesperson told the press that the person Venezuelan authorities arrested is not a DEA agent. “He is not a DEA agent and he is not a U.S. citizen,” said deputy press attaché Jennifer Rahimi on Friday, according to Reuters.