Spain rejects US request to extradite Venezuelan ex-spy

Spain’s National Court on Monday rejected a United States extradition request for a former Venezuelan military spy chief, The Associated Press reported.

A released order has also reportedly been issued for retired Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal.

María Dolores Argüelles, a lawyer for Carvajal, told the AP that she has no immediate details about the ruling.

{mosads}Carvajal fled to Spain earlier this year after publicly supporting the opposition’s efforts to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

His lawyers said during a court hearing Thursday that the U.S. had requested extradition because of the information Carvajal has heading Venezuela’s military intelligence agency for more than a decade.

Spanish and U.S. officials have called into question Carvajal’s claims to hold information that would be currently relevant because he was demoted and retired shortly after Maduro came to power in 2013, according to AP.

He is accused of drug smuggling and was arrested in Madrid because of a U.S.-issued warrant.