Justice Minister claims home jurisdiction – if there's a case ‘Suspect should be tried here’

Caracas Daily Journal (Jeremy Morgan) writes: Interior and Justice Minister Ramón Rodríguez Chacín said suspected drug trafficker Hermagoras González Polanco – for whom a $5 million reward is on offer in the United States – could be tried in Venezuela.

The minister's statement came at a press conference on Monday at which he said a trial would hinge on it being proved González Polanco committed crimes in Venezuela. González Polanco is also the subject of an Interpol arrest order.

"We're investigating possible crimes," the minister said, "and I think he must be tried in Venezuela." Rodríguez Chacín reiterated Venezuela's commitment to the battle against drug trafficking.

"The easiest thing to do would be to deport him to Washington," the minister said, adding that "responsibly" the suspect would first have to be investigated here, the news agency EFE reported.

It would be "irresponsible" to extradite him immediately to the United States, but if nothing was found against González Polanco, he would be "handed over to the institutions that are asking for him."

González Polanco is thought to be of Colombian origin. Rodríguez Chacín said investigations were under way as to whether he had obtained Venezuelan citizenship.

Rodríguez Chacín spoke to the media after, El Universal, claimed González Polanco had identity documents from the state security directive, Disip, and an intelligence unit at the National Guard (GN).

The newspaper attributed the story to Semana, a Colombian weekly. It quoted González Polanco's lawyer, Freddy Ferrer, as saying the documents were legitimate.

Earlier, Ferrer complained that his client's arrest was illegal because there was no court order for his capture.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the United States and the GN have claimed González Polanco was head of the Cartel del Sol, which supplied illegal drugs to the Caribbean, the United States and Europe.

The cartel was first referred to in the public domain by Venezuelan journalist and municipal councellor Mauro Marcano.

In his last published column, Marcano claimed drug traffickers had infiltrated GN intelligence units. He was slain on a street in Maturín, Monagas state, in 2004.

González Polanco's brother, Eudo, also linked to illegal drugs, died in a shoot-out with the scientific and investigative police, Cicpc, that same year.