Former Venezuelan spy chief pleads not guilty to US drug trafficking charges

Former Venezuelan spy chief Hugo Carvajal pleaded not guilty to US drug trafficking charges in a New York courtroom.
Prosecutors allege Carvajal coordinated shipments totaling over 17,000 kg of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico and the US between 1999 and 2019.
Carvajal agreed to remain in custody while his lawyers prepare a bail proposal.
If convicted, Carvajal faces a minimum sentence of 30 years and potentially up to life in prison.
Carvajal's extradition to the US in September 2021 ended a decade-long effort by the Department of Justice to bring him to trial.