A Spanish judge Wednesday asked the government to seek the extradition of a suspected member of the militant Basque separatist group ETA from Venezuela - despite Caracas having said he could not be handed over, DPA reported.
National Court judge Eloy Velasco believes Arturo Cubillas to be the ETA representative for Venezuela and nearby countries.
Venezuela says its constitution prohibits the extradition of its nationals, but the judge said Spanish-born Cubillas had acquired Venezuelan citizenship for fraudulent purposes, in an attempt to avoid being handed over to Spain.
Cubillas, a senior official at the Venezuelan agriculture ministry, has lived in the Latin American country since 1989.
Velasco is investigating alleged cooperation between ETA and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Venezuela. He has charged 13 ETA or FARC suspects, including Cubillas, with crimes including plans to kill high-ranking Colombians in Spain.
Velasco accuses Caracas of protecting an alliance between FARC and ETA, a charge that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has categorically denied.
ETA, which has killed about 850 people since 1968 in its campaign for a sovereign Basque state, is listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.