Spain arrests former Venezuelan official on US warrant

MADRID (AP) — Spanish police say they have arrested Venezuela’s former minister of electrical development in Madrid on a warrant from the United States.

Javier Alvarado Ochoa is under investigation in the U.S. for charges related to alleged money laundering linked to Venezuela’s state oil company, known as PDVSA.

A Spanish police official says Alvarado was arrested Thursday near his home in the Spanish capital. The official cannot be named, in accordance with police rules. Spain’s National Court says a judge has ordered Alvarado to be jailed while his extradition to the U.S. is decided.

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He also faces two separate corruption and money-laundering probes in Spanish courts, and has been indicted in Andorra, also for allegedly laundering money from PDVSA.

In Portugal, he is being investigated on possible bribery charges involving a Lisbon bank and accounts holding funds from the Venezuelan oil giant.