So, The Netherlands invoked an article nobody had referred to in the whole affair, to release Hugo Carvajal on Sunday evening. Basically what the Netherlands said was that Art. 13 of the Vienna Convention allows for a Consul named but not accepted to temporarily assume his or her duties. Thus, according to this, Carvajal’s arrest was valid and his release was valid.
However…
It was somewhat sneaky of the Dutch to release Carvajal on a Sunday, without going to the Judge that originally said Carvajal did not have immunity. You would have thought that in a country with Law and Order, the proper procedure and place would have been to go to Court on Monday and request Carvajal’s release.
Most likely, the Dutch Government did not want the US to show up in Court on Monday with the extradition papers, creating a conflict. The Prosecutor in Aruba had said that the extradition was now just a formality and the US just had to provide the required documentation for it to take place.
Clearly, everyone applied pressure, but the weak link did not turn out to be Aruba as I suggested on my first post, but rather The Netherlands, as reportedly even Russia played a role, exchanging concessions on the Ucraine plane for helping release Carvajal. No matter what anyone says or how this is interpreted, it was a severe blow to the US, who would have loved to get Carvajal onshore. The indictments are a doozy, they are sealed indictments in Miami and New York, accusing Carvajal in Miami of helping drug dealers and in the Carvajal Indictment Southern District of NY of :
This is not aiding or helping, this is coordinating the transportation of “only” 5.6 Tons of cocaine to the US, quite a strong accusation, charged by the Grand Jury, no?
Meanwhile, Carvajal is welcomed in Venezuela as a hero and there are few mentions of the fact that The Netherlands declared him persona non grata. What is true according to reports is that Carvajal had been going to Aruba for months and unlikely that he was going to act as a Consul. We will never know what he was doing there, but one can suspect.
The most likely threat by Maduro on the Dutch? That Venezuela would withdraw from the Isla refinery in Aruba. The Netherlands already spends more money that it wants on the ABC islands to have to spend even more.
This story likely ends here for now. Carvajal and his buddies will likely stay away from jurisdictions with a US extradition treaty for quite a long time.
And, of course, no more Disney for you, high ranking Chavistas!
The Devil's Excrement 
August 1, 2014 at 1:02 pm
The Minister of Foreign Affairs answer to questions from the oppo.
I find they asked the wrong questions.
You can find the document here:
http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/kamerstukken/2014/08/01/antwoord-op-kamervragen-over-militaire-dreiging-door-venezuela-om-aruba-binnen-te-vallen.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
It’s in Dutch, you can copy to Google MT, but be warned: the answers are disappointing (as expected)
August 1, 2014 at 6:50 am
Miguel,
Very stupid question but I want to be 10000% sure: is the Felix Osorio who was minister the same as this?
http://www.el-nacional.com/siete_dias/promocion-militar-dolares-Cadivi_0_452954841.html
August 1, 2014 at 6:52 am
Sorry, he definitely is. Jesus Christ! None of our oppo leaders is talking about this. What the heck are they doing? Vacationing in Miami before the next devaluation?
August 1, 2014 at 6:53 am
Are you sure? I did not think the other one was a General
August 1, 2014 at 7:22 am
No, he was not. But this is just sloppiness from El Nacional. I told them to correct it. Felix Osorio (colonel) WAS the Mercal man.
August 1, 2014 at 7:23 am
That is to say Felix Osorio IS the same man, but the journalist got the title wrong, Felix Osorio from Mercal and from the Cadivi links is a colonel.
What he did is by no means kosher.
July 30, 2014 at 5:33 pm
Argentina has officially defaulted. Is Venezuela next?
July 30, 2014 at 4:59 pm
[…] Via The Devil's Excrement: […]
July 30, 2014 at 4:41 pm
The Dutch are all about business, they have always been that way throughout their history, they are also entitled to use the phrase “its all about national interest” only they say or express it differently. O by the way Venezuela granted the Dutch firm Damen Shipyards a contract to build 12 coastal patrol ships for the Venezuelan Coast Guard worth more then $300 millions, and their gonna be built in their shipyard in Cuba. I guess it’s sorry U.S. get the guy yourself.
July 30, 2014 at 2:27 pm
Miguel, I apologize for supplying the bitcoin information. You taught me an important lesson. Thank you. I will not bother you again.
July 30, 2014 at 4:02 am
Here De Volkskrant (in Dutch),
http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2668/Buitenland/article/detail/3704892/2014/07/29/Hoe-diplomaat-of-crimineel-Carvajal-een-probleem-werd-voor-Nederland.dhtml
If you have any question, let me know.
July 29, 2014 at 9:41 pm
So in the future, Venezuela will free Aruba from the claws of the evil empire.
As long as chavismo remainst stable and strong they can do whatever they want, and they even get help from the “enemies”.
Seems everybody wants chavismo to stay in power except for the ever decreasing number of unhappy venezuelan opposition.
July 29, 2014 at 9:06 pm
Win one lose one. Beni is in jail in Miami and nobody cares. Grabbing a few crooks is not the point. Stirring up the rats nest to see what shakes out and make them spend a lot of money, political and economic favors is.
July 29, 2014 at 7:06 pm
The Dutch decision appears to me to be legally defensible. If Carvajal was admitted to Aruba on the basis that he could perform consular functions, then he has immunity.
There is no plausible argument that the Dutch should have made this argument to the Extradition Judge. Such a judge has limited jurisdiction, to determine only whether the evidence presented in court provides a prima facie case that criminal statutes were violated.
The grant of immunity, either directly or by implication as in s.13, is a decision completely divorced from any decision pertaining to the Extradition Judge.
While we all would love for Carvajal to be behind US bars, I don’t want the US to be bullying the Dutch or anyone else into lawless actions. If we want the rule if law, we need to respect it even when its results are inconvenient.
July 29, 2014 at 7:29 pm
The decision is legally defensible, but…
The Aruba Judge asked the Dutch Foreign Ministry on Thursday if Carvajal had immunity, the answer was no according to the Aruba Prosecutor.
Then, on Sunday the Dutch changed their mind and “ordered” Carvajal freed. I do believe that this change of heart required some form of presentation in front of the Judge, you are, after all, overturning his decision. Even if the Judge had limited jurisdiction he had already ruled based on the info provided by the Dutch, not his interpretation.
The timing of the change of hear is also suspect, ten PM Netherlands time. If you dont thing something is rotten in Rotterdam, I do.
Again, I always thought the weak link (and I said it in my first post) was that first decision in Aruba.
July 30, 2014 at 4:52 pm
There is no legal defense for what happened. Carvajal would have been a Consul General. Under the VIenna Convention of Consular Affairs, those working in a consulate only have immunity for actions performed in conjunction of their position in the consulate. It is not blanket immunity. The last time I checked, drug trafficking is not the normal part of a Consul General’s duties. Therefore, he never had immunity for his drug indictment. People were bought off on this, plain and simple.
August 1, 2014 at 8:22 pm
Well said, and agreed.
August 7, 2014 at 1:23 pm
Nobody was bought off. There is a bigger picture and this arrest and extradition was not meant to be period. It was an opportunity that materialized and a gamble that presented itself. DEA does not conduct US foreign policy so one can make the case this was poorly planned and executed with little chance of success. History lessons important.
July 29, 2014 at 9:24 pm
Agree JH, bigger picture and no one cares about Venezuela in the bigger picture. Although they should start thinking about the great Axis of Evil. Its expanding…..
August 7, 2014 at 1:24 pm
You are not alone with those thoughts.
July 30, 2014 at 1:55 pm
“…legally defensible…”
I suppose so, if one overlooks the circumstances, and squints really hard to avoid seeing the larger principles involved. Anyway you look at it, it was also legally defensible to uphold the Aruban judge’s decision. When you add that this was done in the wee hours of a Sunday night, it is clear that this was a political decision, and not a legal one.
August 1, 2014 at 8:25 pm
Hmmmm…so there is legal justice and political justice..Different findings for different people involving the same crimes…Interesting…..So why don’t they print that in law books and teach people the truth…That you may not have to pay if the decision has a political vibe, interest, or undertone…I wonder how the general public would support such law practice or if they suspect it?
July 29, 2014 at 2:02 pm
The communist regime in Venezuela serves a useful purpose to those who are really pulling the strings in this world, just as the Cuban regime has and continues to do. I am no more surprised to hear of this than I was surprised when Hugo was reinstated after resigning. Useful idiots are kept in place as long as they are useful. Under the Taliban, Afghanistan’s production of opium dropped to almost nothing; at present it is the highest it has ever been. Mission accomplished.
July 29, 2014 at 1:17 pm
Shameful… I wonder how many honest and decent people in government who worked this case in Aruba, the Netherlands, and the U.S. are considering resignation in disgust right now.
August 7, 2014 at 1:19 pm
None. Why should anyone leave their perky and cushiony jobs over this POS? How does this affect their lives?
July 29, 2014 at 1:09 pm
Russia played a role? Really? That would be a major scandal in the Netherlands if true.
August 7, 2014 at 1:18 pm
I really doubt this. Moscow has very little leverage with Amsterdam after MH17. Caracas has enough leverage over Netherlands Antilles as is.
July 29, 2014 at 12:00 pm
Maduro -> Putin
Putin -> Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch -> ???
??? suspends the Barbeque of the pollo
Nice to have friends in high places
July 29, 2014 at 1:48 pm
Why would Shell intervene? It´s properties in Venezuela are a shambles, because PDVSA doesn´t pay. Look deep in Shell´s SEC filings and you will how it really works. Those properties are more suited for a write down than anything. But all the multinationals are hanging around hoping to see Maduro shift rightwards, as his Cuban bosses want him to do.
July 29, 2014 at 3:54 pm
“Its properties in Venezuela are a shambles, because PDVSA doesn´t pay.”
That’s right, but those are potential billions of dollars, dollars that sooner than later’ll be paid in exchange for this narcochicken.
July 29, 2014 at 9:20 pm
Stupid uninformed comment, sorry
August 1, 2014 at 9:55 am
Otros suponen que fueron intereses económicos que resultaron decisivos: Aruba apoyaba los EE.UU. porque el turismo norteamericano les genera mas ganancia que el nuestro, y Holanda apoyó a Venezuela por los negocios entre la Dutch Shell y PDVSA. Me gustaría pensar que no vivimos en un mundo tan cínico, en que los cálculos morales se determinan a través solamente del autointerés, pero, por lo visto, ¿quién sabe?
En conclusión, quedo profundamente desilusionado, pero en caso que este artículo lo este leyendo Su Majestad el rey Guillermo Alejandro de los Países Bajos, príncipe de Orange-Nassau, etc., etc., etc. (¿quien sabe? ahora que los nuevos dueños de El Universal son europeos) no se preocupe alteza. El gouda se quedará en mi nevera, y mis lealtades futbolísticas en mi corazón. Denle las gracias a Venezuela, que lleva quince años enseñándome como seguir amando a un pueblo por mas que su gobierno te decepcione.
Decepciones a la holandesa, por Daniel Lansberg
caracaschronicles
July 29, 2014 at 10:05 am
It si indeed a big reputational blow to the US. Power is as much appearance as reality. Who pokes the US in eye nowadays? Aruba? The Netherlands? Seriously? I don’t see Reagan/Shultz, Bush/Baker, Kennedy/Rusk or Clinton/Albright letting themselves being conned the way we just were.
July 29, 2014 at 4:39 pm
Obama is asking for it. His foreign relations are a fiasco. He is making Carter look good — which I though was mission impossible.
August 7, 2014 at 1:14 pm
Shit happened that they where not prepared for. First the judge drops by and days later Carvajal. They took the opportunity but it was going to be tricky because there was no prior coordination and agreement at higher levels. I do think they could have done it better and detected a bit of arrogance and gloating from DEA in Aruba parading the perp for camera. However there was an opportunity stemming from MH17 that the Feds could have better coordinated with their Dutch counterparts but the die was cast and realistically little could be done. Hard to say in hindsight whether it was right call but lots gleamed.
July 29, 2014 at 10:02 am
>>>And, of course, no more Disney for you, high ranking Chavistas!
Not being allowed to go to Disneyland is the REAL reason chaburros are mad at the Empire.
July 29, 2014 at 3:59 pm
Amen to that, brother! Ghahahahahahaaaa! xD
July 29, 2014 at 9:53 am
[…] addition to good’ol military thuggery, Miguel Octavio asserts that the Netherlands caved in (emphasis added): Clearly, everyone applied pressure, but the weak link did not turn out to be […]
July 29, 2014 at 9:37 am
Future of Carvajal and chavistas: One thing is sure, Carvajal has an outstanding arrest warrant, will he be placed on the Interpol list now ? Will a reward be placed on his head ? Also, because you dont know who has said what, many judges that have dealt with drug issues will think twice before leaving Venezuela to countries that have extradition treaties with the US
July 29, 2014 at 9:47 am
Judges, politicians, military, corrupt, many, many, no more Mickey, no more beaches. Conozca a Venezuela for them.