Venezuelan Consul Kidnapped on Caribbean Island Belonging to Netherlands

Caracas (PNA/ITAR-TASS) — Venezuelan Consul Hugo Carvajal has been kidnapped on the Caribbean island of Aruba, an autonomous territory of the Netherlands, Venezuela’s President Nicholas Maduro said Friday.

He also said the Venezuelan authorities were doing everything in their power to free the diplomat and would not spare efforts in the struggle with lawlessness.

Reports from Aruba said Carvajal had been detained by local law enforcement agencies at the US request.

The Americans accused him of drugs trafficking and support for insurgents in Colombia.

Maduro said he was confident that Carvajal had gotten into a trap and his arrest was an act of kidnapping since he performed the duties of a diplomat serving the interests of the Venezuelan state.

Venezuela demanded that the Dutch authorities set him free immediately, since his detention stood at variance with Vienna Convention of 1961.

Hugo Carvajal was appointed Venezuelan Consul to Aruba in January 2014.

Previously, he stood at the head of the national department for fighting with organized crime and sponsoring terrorism. (PNA/Itar-Tass)LGI/RSM

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