Panama hands over Venezuela air force officer wanted in plot


News from Panama / Tuesday, June 30th, 2015

figueroa

Panama has handed over to Venezuela an air force official accused taking part in a military-led plot to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuela’s Interior Minister Gustavo Gonzalez said on Twitter on Thursday that Lt. Eduardo Figueroa had been repatriated after being captured in Panama on an international arrest warrant. He didn’t provide further details.

Maduro in February accused 14 former and active military officers of conspiring to bomb the presidential palace and other government buildings as part of a US-backed coup. Several people were later convicted.

Washington dismissed the charges as baseless and an attempt to distract attention from a punishing economic crisis.