Former Venezuelan military officers linked to Sinaloa cartel arrested

Venezuelan authorities arrested on Monday two former officers of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB, militarized police) accused of leading drug trafficking gangs linked to the Sinaloa cartel.

"Vasily Kotosky Villarroel Ramírez, 43, had been internationally wanted since October 2008 (...) for leading a criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking," the Commanding General of the GNB Néstor Reverol said in a press release.

Villarroel, former captain of the GNB, is also accused "of making links between Colombian and Mexican drug cartels," added Reverol accompanied by the National Anti-Drug Commander, Héctor Hernández.

Reverol also reported the arrest of former lieutenant Robert Alexander Pinto Gil, 32, who "was in charge of gangs dedicated to drug trafficking between the Carabobo and Anzoategui states."

Pinto was arrested in 2010, after authorities seized 336 kilos of cocaine and an aircraft, and sent to prison from which he escaped two months later.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Gustavo González, said Monday that Villarroel, alias "El Potro" is the "leader of the 'Cartel de los 40', and operator of the illicit resources of the Sinaloa cartel."

According to the Venezuelan minister "El Potro" has "links with the drug lord Frank Treyo, 'El Negro Frank', jailed in the U.S. for the shipment of large quantities of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and its distribution in North America."

The two former officers were arrested on Monday in an operation led by the Venezuelan National Anti-Drug Command.