The procedure is already in the hands of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence – Photo: Getty Images/Getty Images.
The government of Nicolás Maduro arrested U.S. citizen Michell Travis Francois in a rural area of Apure state, Venezuela, bordering Colombia.
According to Venezuelan media, the North American is allegedly linked to the so-called TANCOL, a denomination created by the Maduro government to refer to “Colombian Armed Drug Trafficking Terrorists.”
According to the Venezuelan portal Alberto News, Travis Francois is accused of having in his possession 704,000 Colombian pesos, 20 dollars, two cell phones, two bags with clothes, personal items, candies, and drinks.
So far, neither of the two governments has made a statement on the case. However, with this new arrest, there is speculation that Nicolás Maduro is using U.S. prisoners in Venezuela for political exchanges.
The arrest of this last American takes place a few days after the exchange of prisoners between the United States and the Maduro regime.
The Venezuelan government released the 6 Americans linked to Citgo, former Marine John Matthew Heath and Osman Imram Khan, in exchange for the release of Franqui Flores and his cousin Efraín Campo, accused of drug trafficking crimes and who are nephews of Nicolás Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores.
The case of Michell Travis Francois is in the hands of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM), feared by many Venezuelans for the repressive forces used by the agency of Nicolás Maduro’s regime.