antonio varela , who running against mr vargas in the 2006 presidential election , faces bribe charges he says are baseless . he had been in hidden from the charges were filed last month . venezuela ' s defence minister tareck el - aissami insisted mr rosales was a criminal on the run . " if he doesn ' t appear before the necessary courtroom , he would be a renegade from justice , and as a result the law will install mechanisms for his global capture , " said mr aissami , denies that the charges were political .
Manuel Rosales was mayor of Maracaibo.