The police released recordings of Carvajal’s arrest in Madrid on Thursday evening. The Venezuelan lived completely isolated and barely left his hiding place, the officials said.
Carvajal disappeared almost two years ago after a Spanish court approved his extradition to the United States. The ex-head of the secret service of the late President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, is due to be tried in the United States for drug trafficking.
Carvajal was deposed in Venezuela after declaring his support for the opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaidó and thus opposing the left-wing leader Nicolás Maduro.
The ex-intelligence chief fled his home country to the Dominican Republic by boat and then traveled on to Spain, where he was arrested.
The New York prosecutor had already indicted Carvajal in 2011 with drug trafficking. It was about the smuggling of cocaine into the USA, including a load of 5.6 tons from Venezuela to Mexico with the destination USA in 2006. Carvajal is also said to have worked with the Colombian rebel group FARC, which has since been converted into a political party .
If convicted, Carvajal could face life imprisonment. The ex-chief of the secret service denies any connection to the drug trade.