Newsmaker

FBI arrests long-sought Puerto Rican militant

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-05-11 15:04

Norberto Gonzalez Claudio, 65, is being escorted by FBI agents after his court appearance in San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 10, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

SAN JUAN - A Puerto Rican nationalist who was one of two remaining fugitives sought for one of the largest bank robberies in US history was arrested Tuesday as he took a morning stroll in a central town on the island, the FBI said.

Authorities say Norberto Gonzalez Claudio took part in the $7 million robbery of an armored car depot in West Hartford, Connecticut, in 1983 as a member of the militant independence group Los Macheteros. Gonzalez calmly admitted his identity and then refused to say another word as federal agents and local police arrested him along a jogging track in the town of Cayey, said Luis Fraticelli, special agent in charge of FBI operations in Puerto Rico.

"He seemed surprised" but did not put up any resistance, Fraticelli said.

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Authorities did not disclose what led to the arrest.

Fraticelli said that he believed Gonzalez had been hiding out in Puerto Rico the whole time he was a fugitive and that the FBI is looking into who might have helped him elude authorities during the more than 25 years since his indictment. Later Tuesday, a judge in San Juan approved a search warrant for his house.

Gonzalez, 65, was living alone in a modest home under a false name, and authorities believe he still had an active role in the militant group, which has claimed responsibility for a series of robberies, murders and bombings in the name of Puerto Rican independence, Fraticelli said.

An older brother, Avelino, was sentenced last year to seven years in prison after spending more than two decades as a fugitive for his role in the heist. A third brother, Orlando, was also convicted of taking part in the robbery and has since been released.

James Bergenn, a Connecticut lawyer who represented Avelino Gonzalez after he was captured in 2008, said US law enforcement had been closing in on Tuesday's arrest.

"There's heavy interest in this case. They wanted it done," Bergenn said. "It's been dormant, but then they started investigating again when they arrested Avelino."