FILE - In this May 9, 2011, file photo, Colombian police officers escort alleged drug trafficker Walid “The Turk” Makled to a waiting plane at the military airport in Bogota, Colombia. The Venezuelan citizen of Syrian descent was arrested late last year on a U.S. warrant in Colombia. Venezuelan authorities have arrested judge Ali Fabricio Paredes on Wednesday Feb. 11, 2015, less than 24 hours after he issued a sentence in the high-profile drug trafficking case against drug kingpin Makled, that prosecutors say is too lenient. The state prosecutor’s office says Paredes will face charges related to favoritism.(AP Photo/Fernando Vergara,File) (The Associated Press)
CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan authorities have arrested a judge less than 24 hours after he issued a sentence in a high-profile drug trafficking case that prosecutors say is too lenient.
The state prosecutor's office says Ali Fabricio Paredes will face charges related to favoritism in the case of a drug kingpin.
On Tuesday, Paredes sentenced Walid Makled to 14 years in prison, drawing immediate objections from prosecutors, who say they will appeal.
The kingpin's arrest in Colombia trigged a tug-of-war between Venezuela and the U.S. Both countries wanted to try him, but he was ultimately extradited to Venezuela.
Paredes' detention recalled the case of Maria Lourdes Afiuni, who was jailed in 2009 after then-President Hugo Chavez objected to her freeing a banker. Her ongoing trial has sparked international condemnation.
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