Former deputy Juan Guaido with a lost expression in his face. File photo.
On Sunday, March 13, Migration Colombia announced the capture of the Italian-Venezuelan drug trafficker Garafolo Forte Biaggio Benito in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. An Interpol Red Notice issued in 2015 made Biaggio Benito a wanted man in 193 countries. Biaggio Benito maintains close ties with Venezuelan opposition politicians such as Henrique Capriles, Juan GuaidĂł, and the fugitive Ismael GarcĂa.
Material released by the investigative blog La Tabla demonstrates the links between the drug trafficker and former deputy Guaidó, particularly through members of his Popular Will party, including former parliamentarian Marco Aurelio Quiñones.
In addition, photographs reveal the active participation of Biaggio Benito in right-wing political activities. In one of the photos, Biaggo Benito is seen with Roland Carreño, arrested in 2020 on charges of financing terrorism, conspiracy, and illicit arms trafficking.
AdelantĂł que develará mañana algunas conversaciones de Whatsapp.#LaTabla publicĂł algunas fotografĂas del capo capturado en #Cartagena, con dirigentes de PJ y VP como GuaidĂł, Capriles y los ex diputados, Marco Aurelio Quiñones, Ismael GarcĂa y Roland Carreño. pic.twitter.com/wHDtJvuXot
— La Tabla (@latablablog) March 17, 2022
The drug lord’s relationship with the right appears to be quite close. Former deputy Quiñones is one of GuaidĂł’s main collaborators, and was part of several delegations that requested actions against Venezuela before international organizations.
Despite this, through Twitter, Quiñones stated that he wanted “the full weight of the law” to be exercised against Biaggio Benito. Regardless, the political alignment and close relationship between the two was confirmed on social media platforms. Most of Quiñones’ posts are retweets from politicians from Anaco, in Anzoátegui state, the city where they allegedly met.
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En las Ăşltimas horas, Oficiales de MigraciĂłn Colombia detuvieron en la ciudad de Cartagena, al ciudadano extranjero Garafolo Forte Biaggio Benito, quien era buscado en 193 paĂses, por las autoridades de España, por el delito de tráfico de drogas. 👇🏼https://t.co/f8kzzUYRg6 pic.twitter.com/DKSL9K4maF
— MigraciĂłn Colombia (@MigracionCol) March 14, 2022
Another figure in this case is the former prosecutor general, now a fugitive from justice, Luisa Ortega DĂaz, who in 2015 prevented Biaggio Benito from being extradited to Spain. At that time, Biaggio Benito had been detained for allegedly transporting 350 kg of cocaine to Spain using the company Top Fruit Group SL.
Biaggio Benito’s organization introduced drugs to Spain using the façade of a fruit export company, revealed after a shipment was detected arriving in Barcelona from Venezuela. As a result, Biaggio Benito was arrested in Venezuela in 2015.
In 2019, photographs of former deputy GuaidĂł were found that showed him with members of Colombia’s Los Rastrojos narco-trafficking paramilitary group, which facilitated GuaidĂł’s transfer to Colombia to promote the “humanitarian aid” invasion attempt of Venezuela on February 23.
Garafolo Forte Biaggio Benito, 49, entered Colombia illegally from La Guajira, Venezuela. After his capture in Colombia last week, in a hotel in Cartagena, it will be up to local authorities to answer for the crimes he is accused of in Spain. It is unclear how the drug lord evaded Venezuelan justice.
Featured image: Former deputy Juan GuaidĂł with a lost expression in his face. File photo.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
