Millions Offered For Capture Of 3 Former Venezuelan Officials Charged In Miami Federal Court With Drug Trafficking, Other Crimes
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The U.S. Department of State is offering multi-million dollar rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of three former Venezuelan officials.
The rewards are $10 million for Pedro Luis Martin-Olivares, 53, up to $5 million for Rodolfo McTurk-Mora, 58, and up to $5 million for Jesus Alfredo Itriago, 62.
Here is what federal officials said about the fugitives:
Martin-Olivares, the former Chief of Economic Intelligence of the Venezuelan Intelligence Service (Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional (SEBIN)), was indicted in April 2015 by a federal grand jury sitting in Miami.
He is charged with distributing more than five kilograms of cocaine knowing that it would be unlawfully imported into the United States, possessing with the intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine on board an aircraft registered in the United States, and conspiring with others to import more than five kilograms of cocaine.
McTurk-Mora, the former head of Interpol in Venezuela, was indicted in April 2013, by a Miami federal grand jury.
He is charged with conspiring to import more than five kilograms of cocaine into the United States and with conspiring with others to corrupt and impede the South Florida federal prosecution of (now-convicted) narcotics trafficker Jaime Alberto Marin Zamora by delaying and preventing Marin Zamora's extradition from Venezuela to the United States.
Officials say McTurk-Mora solicited bribes from traffickers arrested in Venezuela to prevent their extradition to the United States.
Itriago, the former Chief of Counter-narcotics of a main criminal investigative agency in Venezuela (Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminálisticas (CICPC)), was indicted on January 31, 2013, by a federal grand jury sitting in Miami on a charge of conspiring with others to import more than five kilograms of cocaine into the United States.
"Corrupt Venezuelan officials who lined their pockets by protecting drug traffickers from detection and arrest enabled the entry of enormous amounts of dangerous drugs into the U.S., threatening the well-being of our nation," said U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan. "Whether they are former or current Venezuelan officials, whether they committed their crimes years ago or yesterday, whether we catch them tomorrow, months, or years from now, I promise one thing: The Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners will not rest until these criminals are brought to justice in the U.S."
"The walls are closing in for Martin-Olivares, McTurk-Mora, and Itriago, all of whom face significant drug trafficking charges in the Southern District of Florida." said DEA Miami Field Division Acting Special Agent in Charge Keith Weis. "The rewards for information leading to their whereabouts and capture will add another significant level of pressure used by our investigators and prosecutors tasked with bringing them to justice."
In March of this year, the Department of Justice announced drug trafficking, corruption, narco-terrorism, and other criminal charges against Nicolas Maduro Moros and 14 Current and Former Venezuelan Officials, including charges filed by prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida.
Anyone with information that may lead to the arrest and/or conviction of these fugitives can email the DEA at CartelSolesTips@usdoj.gov, or message the DEA at 1-202-681-8187 using text messages, WhatsApp, or Signal. Government officials and employees are not eligible for rewards.