CARACAS – REUTERS
The Venezuelan government announced the arrest of a mayor belonging to the ruling party, two elected representatives and other individuals as part of an operation to combat drug smuggling, but the Sultan did not say whether it seized any contraband.
The Ministry of the Interior and the Drug Enforcement Agency have arrested Creneth Fernandez, a mayor in the state of Zulia, which borders the country with Colombia. The ministry and the agency said in a statement issued on Friday: “Investigations are continuing, and it is not excluded that others will be arrested,” adding that they are in the process of issuing a statement with the latest information at a later time. Fernandez was elected mayor in local elections last November. The statement stated that in addition to the arrest of two elected representatives, one of whom belongs to the ruling Socialist Party, and the other to the “Venezuela First” party, the authorities arrested three others, including a Colombian.
