A Beirut Explosion Suspect Was Just Captured In Chile

The New York Times - Ágoston Németh

After more than 20 months since the Beirut Port Explosion on August 4th, 2020, Chilean authorities have announced that an Interpol fugitive in connection with the explosion was identified and intercepted by the Chilean Investigative Police (PDI) upon arriving at Santiago airport on Wednesday.

The fugitive, a Portuguese national, was identified after arriving from Madrid, Spain on a flight headed to Arturo Merino Benitez Airport, Santiago.

Cristian Sáez, a chief International Police officer at the airport, stated at a press conference that the man was flagged by a “red broadcast emanating from Interpol” for suspicions pertaining to “interning explosive elements in Lebanon” which are thought to have catalyzed the Beirut port explosion.

The man, named Jorge Moreira (43), according to the Chilean press, was later extradited back to Spain on a plane as per Interpol regulations where he would be treated with the International Central of Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization) protocols.

TheMiddleEast24

Lebanese authorities have handed the Interpol formal requests for the prosecution of Moreira in connection with the cases where he is believed to have been in charge of “Fábrica de Explosivos de Moçambique” explosives factory in Mozambique, which in turn has bought the 2,700 tons from Savaro, Georgia.

Jornal de Notícias, a Portuguese newspaper has said that the failure to extradite Moreira to Lebanon was due to Lebanese incompetence and failure to timely hand the Portuguese judiciary the “documents necessary for extradition, and the time lapsed before Beirut met the request”.

The Beirut port explosion is infamous for being the most powerful non-atomic explosion in history. It reaped the lives of over 234 people and left nearly 6,500 with physical and psychological maladies.

The tragedy sent shockwaves worldwide, while the roars demanding justice and accountability are subjected to systematic muzzling and censorship with no just closure laying on the near horizon.

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