Wife accused of hiring a hit man to kill her husband

A woman accused of hiring a hit man to kill her wealthy husband has told an extradition hearing that she is innocent and the victim of 'the Mafia and corruption'

. 

Puerto Rico national Aurea Vazquez Rijos is wanted by US federal authorities after she allegedly offered a man $3milllion to kill her Canadian husband Adam Anhang.

Mr Anhang, 32, was beaten and stabbed to death in Puerto Rico in 2005 as he walked with Vazquez close to a bar he had bought for her.

Plea: Aurea Vazquez Rijos is facing extradition to the US after she was accused of hiring a hit man to kill her rich husband Adam Anhang. The 33-year-old is pictured during the hearing in Madrid

At today's hearing in Madrid, 33-year-old Vazquez claimed she was not aware that she was wanted by US authorities until she arrived in Spain, having lived legally in Italy since 2008.

The blonde said that she was at risk of being given the death penalty, despite the fact that, according to her, there was no case against her.

As a US Caribbean territory, residents of Puerto Rico are US citizens. Although they can not vote in US presidential elections and do not pay federal income tax, they are subject to US federal laws and can be sentenced to death.

Puerto Rico's government has requested that federal prosecutors stop seeking the death penalty in Puerto Rico, and that juries in the country have rejected death penalty cases six times in recent history.

Vazquez was arrested in Madrid in June, after flying to Spain from Italy.

CULLED