Arrest of drug boss paves way for cordial Chávez-Santos summit

In a move that will have further improved relations with Colombia, Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez announced the arrest on Monday of one of Colombia's most-wanted men, Maximiliano Bonilla Orozco, better known by his alias "Valenciano."

The news came ahead of a summit between Chávez and his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos in Caracas, the fourth such meeting since a normalization of relations in August 2010 after years of tension: the two nations almost went to war after Colombian forces briefly invaded Ecuador in March 2008 to kill a FARC leader, and Chávez mobilized troops along the common border in response.

Chávez said the alleged drug trafficker Orozco was captured at the time of Santos' visit "by happy coincidence." Speaking after the one-day summit, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos praised his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chávez, for the arrest. He described Valenciano, 39, as a "high-value target for Colombia, and the entire world." The Colombian security forces accuse him of leading a 1,500-strong drug gang based in the Colombian city of Medellin. US officials had offered a $5m reward for information leading to his capture.

The Colombian president's meeting with Chávez, the first since the latter fell ill with cancer in June, was highly anticipated. On November 16, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) named a new commander to replace Alfonso Cano, who was killed in a military operation. The new leader, known as "Timochenko," has taken refuge in Venezuela in the past to escape the Colombian army, and some intelligence sources believe he is there now.

President Santos said two weeks ago that he has an agreement with Chávez: "If Timochenko is in Venezuela, Chávez will help us capture him. If we have proof of the presence of commanders there and we give him the coordinates, Chávez will act immediately."

Santos was criticized by former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe last week for his pursuit of better relations with Chávez. Uribe, who regularly hinted that Chávez was at the very least turning a blind eye to the presence of FARC guerrillas in Venezuela, said Santos was "sacrificing democratic values" in seeking to ease tensions with Chávez.

Aside from celebrating the capture of Orozco, the two leaders emphasized a new spirit of cooperation, and announced they had signed several accords covering trade, science, electric power, technology, housing and food.