Maduro: The US only choice is handing over Aponte Aponte

Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro labeled Eladio Aponte Aponte, ex magistrate of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), as a "criminal" and strongly recommended the US government to deport him to Venezuela.

"Aponte is requested under a red alert of Interpol as a result of his direct links to drug-trafficking mafias and, further, because in Venezuela there is a court proceeding related to an inquest prior to his remarks. The United States has one possibility only: handing him over; otherwise, it will be a direct accomplice of these mafias," he emphasized.

Maduro's comments came before his meeting with his Ecuadorian counterpart Ricardo Patiño, where they planned to discuss, among others, the role of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and Venezuela's potential pullout.