Former Venezuelan minister denied Swiss residency
A court in Switzerland has rejected giving a residency permit to a former vice-president of Venezuela, Nervis Villalobos Cárdenas, and his family.
The presence of the former energy minister under Hugo Chávez was deemed a threat to public security and a risk for Switzerland’s reputation, according to a verdict by the Federal Administrative CourtExternal link.
The ruling, announced on Wednesday, confirms a decision by the State Secretariat for Immigration and the Federal Police Office, but it goes against the authorities of canton Geneva dating back to 2016.
The appeal was launched by the wife and son of Villalobos nearly two years ago, according to the Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA.
Villalobos was arrested in Spain and extradited to the United States in 2017 amid criminal investigations into suspected corruption and money laundering in several countries.
The latest ruling in Switzerland is final and can’t be appealed.
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