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| President Santos of Colombia (l) thanked his Venezuelan counterpart (r) for Valenciano's arrest |
One of
Colombia's most-wanted men, Maximiliano Bonilla Orozco, has been captured in
Venezuela.
Mr Orozco,
who is better known under his alias Valenciano, is accused of smuggling tonnes
of cocaine from Colombia to the United States.
American
officials had offered a $5m reward for information leading to his capture.
Colombian
President Juan Manuel Santos has praised his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo
Chavez, for the arrest.
President
Santos was speaking ahead of a summit with President Chavez in the Venezuelan
capital, Caracas.
He
described Mr Orozco, 39, as a "high value target for Colombia, and the
entire world".
The
Colombian security forces accuse him of leading a drug gang based in the
Colombian city of Medellin.
The gang,
known as The Office, was once the armed wing of Pablo Escobar's drug
trafficking ring and took over many of its operations after his death in 1993,
Colombian officials say.
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| Valenciano was captured far from his power base in Medellin |
Valenciano is
accused of managing a 1,500-strong gang controlling the main drug trafficking
routes from Colombia through Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, to the United
States.
Both
President Chavez of Venezuela and President Santos of Colombia hailed
Valenciano's arrest as an example of successful security collaboration.
He was
seized by Venezuelan forces in the northern state of Aragua with the help of
intelligence provided by Colombian police.
President
Chavez said: "Under no circumstance have we or will we allow drug
trafficking, paramilitary or armed groups of any kind to violate our
territory."
In 2010,
relations between Colombia and Venezuela broke down when then Colombian
President Alvaro Uribe accused Venezuela of harbouring left-wing Farc
guerrillas.
Relations
between the two neighbours have improved markedly since President Santos came
to power in August 2010.
President
Chavez said Valenciano would be taken to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to be
handed over to Colombian authorities.
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