CARACAS, March 2 — Alexander “Mimou” Vargas, an ex-basketball player who worked in ousted president Nicolas Maduro’s government, was arrested in Venezuela for unknown reasons, a source told AFP on Sunday.
Vargas, 56, held several positions in the leftist leader’s administration and until February 20 he headed the Peace Movement Foundation, which is tied to the president’s office.
Interim president Delcy Rodriguez has shuffled various figures in the Venezuelan government after she took charge following Maduro’s capture in a US military operation on January 3.
Local media circulated a photo of Vargas being arrested at a gym in Caracas, where his hands were handcuffed behind his back as he was walked out by a man in civilian clothes.
Vargas made frequent appearances at Maduro’s political events and was involved in state-funded sports initiatives, regularly visiting vulnerable communities to donate sports equipment and inaugurate facilities.
As a basketball player, he was a forward for the capital’s Cocodrilos de Caracas team from 1988 to 2005, and played for Venezuela’s national team.
He is also the president of Frontinos del Tachira, a basketball team near the Colombian border founded two years ago, according to his social media profile. — AFP
