An inside job?

The killing late last month in Venezuela of drug capo Wilber Varela, top boss of the Norte del Valle cocaine cartel of Colombia, continues to puzzle officials here. Varela was obsessive about his personal security, often traveling with a bodyguard of 20 or more people, including corrupt Venezuelan cops and soldiers. Yet his body was found Jan. 30 with that of just one bodyguard. Each of them had point-blank bullet wounds.

Some in the know say Varela (pictured) was last seen in the resort town of Merida in the company of two female friends. Others say he was in the company of two male associates who hurriedly left the crime scene, an Alpine-style resort, and who are at large.

Varela is thought to have moved from Colombia several years ago after an internal war broke out with Diego Montoya for control of the cartel. The ensuing conflict left hundreds of victims dead and a fragmented cartel. Part of the cartel sided with Montoya, part with Varela. He is alleged to have lived under the protection of Venezuelan authorities, who now reportedly ease the transit of  one-quarter to one-third of all the cocaine made in Colombia. According to an article in last week's Semana magazine, Varela received protection from no less a figure than Hugo Carvajal, director of Venezuelan military intelligence, whom the publication described as "Chavez's Montesinos," an allusion to former Peruvian spymaster Vladimiro Montesinos.   

-- Chris Kraul in Caracas

Photo credit: U.S. State Department