CARACAS (Reuters) – An accused drug lord sitting in a high-security jail outside Bogota has become an unlikely symbol of friendship for Colombia and Venezuela whose rivalry for years mirrored Latin America’s deep ideological fissures.
Walid Makled, a Venezuelan also known as “The Turk”, is suspected of being one of the world’s biggest traffickers, helping ship tonnes of Colombian cocaine to the United States.
He boasts of a $1.2 billion fortune — and alleges members of President Hugo Chavez’s socialist government helped him make that.
Sought for extradition by both the United States and Venezuela, Colombia’s conservative President Juan Manuel Santos has decided to hand Makled over to his new friend Chavez.
Makled could be sent to Venezuela in the next few weeks, sealing a turnaround that few foresaw in relations between Colombia, a firm US ally, and Venezuela, Washington’s most ferocious critic in Latin America.
The Andean neighbours had been at each other’s throats for years, arguing over US influence in the region and accusations of Venezuelan support for Colombian rebels, but ties improved sharply after Santos took power last August.
“Santos knows it makes a lot of sense to calm the waters with Venezuela,” said US analyst Michael Shifter, noting potential trade and regional security benefits as well as Santos’ wider standing in Latin America.
The Makled case also underscores Colombia’s new degree of independence from Washington compared to the very close ties under former president Alvaro Uribe.
That plays well around Latin America for Santos but it also gives US politicians more ammunition to slow a free trade deal Colombia wants with the United States. Two Republican congressmen have sent Santos a letter pushing that point.
From jail, Makled has been telling anyone who will listen that for eight years he worked with a network of Venezuelan army and government officials managing trafficking rings.
In a TV interview with the Univision network, he spoke of having 40 army officers on his payroll and a half dozen cocaine-laden planes leaving one Venezuelan town each day en route for Honduras then Mexico and the United States.
He has vowed to make more revelations in court and even asked for a hearing in Venezuela’s parliament.
Chavez has scoffed at the claims as the ravings of a “drug-trafficking bandit” and said Washington wanted Makled to help build a false case against Venezuela.
“It is a bit of a hot potato for Venezuela. There will be a lot of attention on how Chavez deals with him,” Shifter said.
Sensing a chance to embarrass Chavez ahead of next year’s presidential election, opponents are calling for an open trial of Makled and saying they fear Chavez will try to gag him.
