Former Argentine officer faces extradition

A Mexican judge has ordered that a former Argentine military officer, wanted in connection with human rights charges, should be detained pending extradition proceedings.

The former officer, Miguel Angel Cavallo, is accused by Spain of torturing and killing opponents of the Argentine military government in power between 1976 and 1983.

On Friday, Interpol identified Mr Cavallo as having operated at the notorious Navy School of Mechanics in Buenos Aires, where hundreds of people were tortured and killed. He is also wanted in France in connection with the killing of fifteen French citizens, including two nuns, in Argentina. Mr Cavallo says he did serve in the Argentine military but is a victim of mistaken identity. Spain has sixty days to present documents backing the request for his extradition.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service