Del Nogal, who fled Argentina when Guido Antonini Wilson was intercepted attempting to bulk cash smuggle $800,000, and who is believed to have supervised an extensive international money laundering operation, was arrested last fall in Milan, on the orders of a magistrate investigating Italian organised crime in Sicily. Since bond is generally not available as a matter of right in that country, the circumstances of his quiet departure from jail strongly suggest corrupt influence was exerted to effectuate his release, which is totally inconsistent with the rule of law.

Disinformation emanating from unknown pro-Chavez sources has been circulated to allege that a bribe of 50,000 Euros was paid by a leading Venezuelan opposition figure,  to discredit him and his supporters, who first disclosed that the ultimate destination of the Antonini cash was the Kirschner presidential campaign.  

The latest reports say that del Nogal, who was released subject to an immigration hold, and will be deported from an immigration procesing centre, will be leaving Italy soon. How can this happen when his passport was described by Italian authorites as bogus? Clearly, illicit influence was exerted somewhere in the Italian judicial system to effectuate his release from custody. Del Nogal does hold a senior position in Venezuela's intelligence police, known by its acronym, DISIP, but accused drug traffickers are not ordinarily granted their freedom because they are law enforcement agents, especially in the European Union.

Sources say that certain United States government agencies are extremely upset with del Nogal's release There are some hard questions here that both the Italian and Venezuelan governments need to answer.