INTERPOL LAWYERS
International defense against
to Red Notices
and INTERPOL notices
Dr. Alan Aldana personally leads each strategy: the removal of Red Notices before the CCF, preventive action against new alerts, and multinational coordination from Madrid and Caracas.
We represent business owners, executives, former high-ranking officials, and high-net-worth families. International law firms routinely refer the coordination of their most sensitive INTERPOL matters to us.
First response in under 24 hours · Spanish and English · WhatsApp and Telegram.
Counsel before the International Criminal Court
Over twenty years of international criminal practice
Madrid · Caracas — permanent offices
International network in fifteen jurisdictions
Professional memberships and affiliations
Detained or held at an airport right now?
Do not sign any statement without legal assistance: you have the right to a lawyer before testifying.
When should you contact VENFORT?
1
There is an alert
You have been arrested, received a notice, or discovered that you are listed in INTERPOL databases. We act before the CCF to request access, rectification, or deletion of your data, and we coordinate your defense in the affected countries.
2
Fear an alert
There is a legal proceeding in your country, and you have well-founded reasons to fear a Red Notice or an alert, especially if the dispute involves political, business, corporate, or family matters. We develop a preventive strategy before the alert is issued.
3
Are you a lawyer or a consultant?
Your firm, consulting firm, or family office needs a correspondent specializing in INTERPOL for a client with operations in Spain, Europe, Latin America, the Gulf States, or Asia. We regularly work with international firms, while fully respecting their client relationships.
The firm does not accept cases related to drug trafficking, terrorism, or sex crimes. If you are interested in learning more, we invite you to review our publications on INTERPOL and extradition. View publications now →
International experience in highly complex criminal proceedings
For more than twenty years, the Dr. Alan Aldana She/He has advised and directed defense strategies in transnational criminal proceedings of special complexity. Many of these cases had international repercussions and entailed high legal, financial, and reputational risks.
His experience includes matters related to investigations arising from the so-called Panama Papers, the Venezuelan stock market and financial crisis of 2009-2010, procedures related to the Odebrecht case within Spanish jurisdiction, as well as defense and prevention strategies for individuals affected by international investigations, arrest warrants, criminal cooperation proceedings, and cases related to sanctions regimes of the OFAC (United States) and the United Kingdom.
Throughout his career, he has advised international business leaders, executives of financial institutions, high-net-worth families, multinational corporations, and high-ranking government officials, including former heads of state, former ministers, and former directors of intelligence agencies. These matters are characterized by a high level of legal, political, and media exposure.
His practice focuses on the design of preventive strategies, international coordination of defense efforts, and comprehensive management of criminal, reputational, and cross-border risks, working alongside a network of correspondents and specialists in multiple jurisdictions when the nature of the matter so requires.
Due to professional confidentiality reasons, no reference on this page identifies specific clients or allows specific procedures to be recognized. The same discretion, confidentiality, and rigor that have protected each of those matters will also protect yours.
"In highly complex international proceedings, the difference rarely lies in reacting before others do; it lies in having devised the right strategy before the conflict reaches its critical point.»
Dr. Alan Aldana
Managing Partner | VENFORT® Attorneys at Law
What is an INTERPOL notice
and why it can affect him
INTERPOL connects the police forces of 196 countries. Its notices and diffusions circulate through this network and can lead to arrests, border detentions, and bank freezes. A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant: it is a request for location and provisional arrest that each country evaluates in accordance with its own law.
The File Control Commission (CCF) is responsible for overseeing this data; it is the independent body to which requests may be made for access to, correction of, or deletion of the information (known as «erasure»).
COLOR
PURPOSE
Locate and temporarily arrest a person for extradition purposes.
When to proceed with the elimination
- Political or economic persecution
- Court order annulled or time-barred
- Lack of proportionality
- Violations of due process
Usual fundamentals
- Political use of the system
- Lack of valid judicial basis
- Violation of human rights
COLOR
PURPOSE
To issue a warning about a person considered a potential threat to public safety, based on a prior conviction or other reliable information.
When to proceed with the elimination
The alert can be challenged by demonstrating that there is no longer a threat, that the data are insufficient, or that proportionality is violated.
Usual fundamentals
Outdated or irrelevant information; sentence already served; absence of a current threat; use of the system to defame or persecute. Outdated or irrelevant information; sentence already served; absence of a current threat; use of the system to defame or persecute.
COLOR
PURPOSE
Locate or identify a person, or gather information about them, within the framework of a criminal investigation.
When to proceed with the elimination
- Person already identified or located
- Nonexistent research
- False or outdated data
Usual fundamentals
- Absence of legal basis
- Risk of undue prosecution
COLOR
PURPOSE
To locate missing persons—often minors—or to help identify those who cannot identify themselves.
When to proceed with the elimination
- Absence of criminal investigation
- Non-serious crimes
- Lack of sufficient judicial data
- Coercive use
Usual fundamentals
- Deviation of purpose
- Covert instrumentation
COLOR
PURPOSE
Locate, identify, or obtain information on assets of illicit origin. Asset scope, not detention. In pilot phase since January 2025.
When to proceed with the elimination
- When the treatment does not comply with INTERPOL's rules: insufficient data, lack of a judicial basis, or disproportionate measure.
Usual fundamentals
- Violation of the principle of proportionality
- Economic or geopolitical misuse
How we act:
five simultaneous defense levels
An international alert is never a single-country issue. The strategy is directed centrally and executed simultaneously on every front.
1
Before INTERPOL
Requests for access, correction, and deletion before the CCF, pursuant to Interpol's Constitution and its Rules on the Processing of Data.
2
In the country that issued the alert
Coordination with the originating defense to challenge the order serving as the basis for the notification.
3
In the countries at risk
Preparation of the response to a potential arrest: extradition, precautionary measures, and immediate border assistance.
4
Before the international human rights systems
When applicable, action before the United Nations, the European Court of Human Rights, or the Inter-American system.
5
In terms of assets and reputation
Protecting accounts, assets, and reputation from the collateral effects of the alert.
Each level is executed by a specialist: firm professionals, local correspondents, and, when the matter requires it, external experts who have provided services in international organizations, including INTERPOL. The strategic direction is always singular.
Preventive protection:
act before the alert exists
The best defense against a Red Notice is to prevent it from being published. When there is a well-founded risk, we work proactively.
Document preparation.
We gathered and organized the evidence that demonstrates the true nature of the procedure.
Article 3 of the INTERPOL Constitution.
We developed the argument that prohibits the Organization from intervening in matters of a political, military, religious, or racial nature.
Procedural safeguards.
We document procedural violations in the country of origin.
Preventive requests before the CCF
When appropriate, we request that the data not be recorded or disclosed.
If your situation has not yet been made public, you still have the greatest strategic advantage: time. The sooner you develop a strategy, the greater your room to maneuver will be. Request a confidential assessment.
Results of Proceedings Before INTERPOL
43
Interactions with INTERPOL — Defense and Prevention
27
Highly complex cases concluded — favorable outcome in all twenty-seven
14
jurisdictions with INTERPOL actions
The firm's complete series comprises forty-three INTERPOL-related actions, developed across fourteen jurisdictions, including defense against published notices, requests for deletion or rectification, and preventive strategies.
Twenty-seven high-complexity procedures related to INTERPOL completed, and in all twenty-seven a favorable result: the CCF agreed to the deletion, rectification, or blocking of the data, or the notice was withdrawn or never published. Among them, matters affecting former heads of state, former bank presidents, transnational construction groups, and businessmen from the oil sector.
In addition to this series of cases, we handle more common matters: blue, green, and yellow notices, and even Red Notices stemming from complaints arising out of family or corporate disputes—cases that INTERPOL’s Data Processing Regulations generally exclude when they result from private disputes. We are also currently advising on proceedings related to the new Silver Notice, which has been in the pilot phase since 2025. All of this falls within a broader international criminal law practice that encompasses extraditions, international sanctions, and litigation before international courts.
These results are explained, in large part, by our selection criteria: we study each matter before taking it on. Each procedure is different and no firm can guarantee a result.
Venezuela is the firm's busiest jurisdiction: it has a permanent office in Caracas, a litigation department headed by a former prosecutor from the Public Prosecutor's Office, and has handled eight cases involving the removal of alerts and the implementation of preventive strategies against lawfare.
Venezuela
8
dismissed alerts and preventive actions against lawfare
Russia
5
high-complexity cases
United States
4
three of them preventive; it includes issues related to OFAC sanctions and related procedures
United Arab Emirates
4
Red Notifications Removed
Ukraine
3
India
3
Panama
3
China
2
customers in Hong Kong
Cuba
2
Green alerts removed
Spain
2
United Kingdom
2
Lebanon
2
Mexico
2
Brazil
1
Total as of June 30, 2026
43
performances
at
14
jurisdictions
The results include deletions and corrections agreed upon by the CCF, withdrawn alerts, precautionary blocks, alerts that were not published, and preventive actions.
Who is in charge of this matter?
Dr. Alan Aldana
Managing Partner. International Strategic Management.
Counsel accredited before the International Criminal Court for the defense, admitted to its List of Counsel. Practicing in Spain and Venezuela, with over twenty years of experience in international criminal law and transnational economic crimes.
Guest professor at Aix-Marseille Université and the Complutense University of Madrid, and speaker at international forums, including the Pontifical Xavierian University, Andrés Bello Catholic University, and the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic. Director of the Venezuela Committee of the World Compliance Association.
He personally directs the strategy of every INTERPOL-related matter that the firm accepts. He accepts a limited number of confidential matters at any given time.
Member of the Defence Extradition Lawyers Forum (DELF), the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA), and Fair Trials' Legal Experts Advisory Panel (LEAP). Member of the Madrid Bar Association and the Inter-American Bar Association. Contributor to the International Journal of Extradition Law (2026).
View full profile →
Eduardo Mora Rodriguez
Social.
Former Public Prosecutor. Has insider knowledge of how criminal prosecution works in the country of origin of many alerts.
He leads the challenge to the arrest warrants and the legal defense in Venezuela, in coordination with the international strategy.
Prof. Dr. Ludovic Hennebel
Of Counsel. International human rights litigation.
International lawyer and professor of international law (Aix-Marseille University). United Nations expert, reelected in 2026 for a four-year term.
It provides the academic perspective and advocates before international human rights protection systems when the matter so requires.
For international law firms and advisors
VENFORT routinely acts as correspondent counsel for international law firms, criminal law boutiques, litigation departments, and family office advisors requiring specialized capabilities in INTERPOL, Spain, Europe, Latin America, the Gulf States, and Asia.
We regularly receive engagements from law firms based in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other international locations, which entrust the coordination of their cases to a team with direct experience before the International Criminal Court, the CCF, and the United Nations human rights mechanisms.
We fully respect each firm's relationship with its client: we intervene within the scope entrusted to us, providing clear reports and direct technical dialogue.
If you would prefer to have a preliminary discussion between attorneys, without involving your client at this time, we would be happy to do so.
When a case before INTERPOL reaches its most complex stage, other law firms entrust its strategic management to Dr. Alan Aldana.
Frequently asked questions about INTERPOL notices
1. Is a Red Notice an international arrest warrant?
No. It is a request for localization and preventive detention directed at the police forces of the member countries. Each country decides, in accordance with its own legislation, whether to carry out the detention. That is why a well-targeted strategy can decisively limit its effects.
2. What is the CCF and how long does a procedure take?
The Data Control Commission (DCC) is the independent body that oversees INTERPOL’s data processing. Requests for access to data, its correction, and its deletion (known as «erasure») may be submitted to its Appeals Chamber, and its decisions are final and binding on the Organization. Its Statute provides for three time limits: a decision on admissibility is communicated within one month of receipt (Art. 32); requests for access are decided within four months of acceptance (Art. 40.1); and requests for correction or deletion, within nine months (Art. 40.2). These time limits may be extended in justified cases (Art. 40.3). In addition, at any stage of the proceedings, the Chamber may order provisional measures regarding the data, such as its precautionary blocking (Art. 37). A well-prepared case file from the very first submission helps avoid unnecessary delays.
The three key deadlines before the CCF
- Step 1UNTIL 1 MONTH · Admissibility — The ICC confirms whether the request meets the requirements to be examined (Art. 32 of the Statute).
- Step 2: 4 MONTHS · Access — Decision on the data access request (art. 40.1).
- Step 3: 9 MONTHS · Deletion Decision — Final and binding resolution on rectification or deletion (art. 40.2).
AT ANY STAGE · Provisional Measures — The Court may order the provisional blocking of data pending its decision (Art. 37).
Deadlines set forth in the CCF Statute, calculated from the date of admission. The Court may extend them in justified cases (Art. 40.3). Each case is different.
3. Can I find out if INTERPOL has data on me?
Yes. Anyone can submit an access request to the CCF. It is a frequent step in preventive strategies and it is advisable to prepare it with advice, because the form of the request conditions the rest of the procedure.
4. What happens if the alert has a political motivation?
Article 3 of the INTERPOL Constitution prohibits the Organization from intervening in matters of a political, military, religious, or racial nature. Establishing such a connection requires technical reasoning and solid evidence; it is one of the core areas of our practice.
5. Do you accept all cases?
No. We study each matter before taking it on and do not intervene in cases related to drug trafficking, terrorism, or sex crimes. In addition, the firm accepts a limited number of matters at any given time: that selection allows us to dedicate to each client the attention that their situation demands.
What does an INTERPOL defense lawyer do?
An INTERPOL lawyer leads the defense against Red Notices and diffusions, requests access to, rectification of, or deletion of data before the CCF, and designs the preventive strategy before the alert is published. At VENFORT, this strategy is personally led by Dr. Alan Aldana and executed in a coordinated manner across the affected countries.
Request a confidential assessment
Write to us on WhatsApp or Telegram (@VENFORT) or use the form on this page.
You will receive an initial response in less than 24 hours. If your situation is urgent, please indicate this: we handle detentions and border holds immediately.
Every consultation is protected by professional secrecy from the first contact, even if the assignment is not ultimately formalized. Following the initial assessment, any fee proposal is made in writing.
Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not include confidential information in this initial contact.
Madrid · Caracas · International network in fifteen jurisdictions.
VENFORT® Lawyers · Madrid · Caracas