04 November 2004
Thirteen Colombian Drug Suspects Extradited to U.S.
Suspects face drug-trafficking, money-laundering charges
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Some 13 Colombian drug suspects have been extradited to the United States where they will face charges of narcotics trafficking and money laundering, says the U.S. Marshals Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice.
An official with the Marshals Service said nine of the alleged drug traffickers were flown from Colombia November 3 to Miami, Florida; one each was sent to Tampa, Florida, and Boston, Massachusetts, while two others went to the Southern District of New York.
Extradition of Colombian drug traffickers to the United States has become "routine," ever since Colombia restored a law to allow such extraditions in 1997, said the official.
A common definition of extradition is the surrender of a fugitive from justice or a prisoner of one state or authority to another.
The official from the Marshals Service, who said he was not at liberty to release the names of the accused traffickers, said that this latest extradition raises to 15 the number of Colombians who have been sent to the United States since fiscal year 2005 began October 1, with more than 60 Colombians extradited in calendar year 2004.
The official said the suspects will now go through the "normal process" of charges involving the U.S. federal court system. This process includes the suspects appearing before a magistrate for their initial appearance, where they will be notified of the charges against them; the setting or denying of bail based upon "statutory requirements," and the offer of a court-appointed attorney if the suspects cannot afford to hire one on their own.
The Bush administration has continually praised Colombian President Alvaro Uribe for being active in pursuing Colombian fugitives sought by the U.S. justice system.
For instance, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said the United States appreciates Uribe's "leadership and commitment" to proceed "vigorously against drug traffickers and terrorists, wherever they are found."
The attorney general says his department is providing direct assistance in law enforcement operations in Colombia and is engaged in numerous projects to improve the Andean nation's "operational capabilities" to track down drug traffickers.
These projects include the training of prosecutors to focus on maritime interdiction of drug shipments; the creation of asset-forfeiture, money-laundering, and anti-corruption task forces; and the development of a program to investigate and prosecute kidnapping and extortion cases. The Justice Department is also assisting in "ambitious" legal reforms of the Colombian Criminal Code and Criminal Procedural Code, Ashcroft said.
The issue of Colombian drug trafficking is of huge importance to the United States. The U.S. State Department said in a February 2003 report to the U.S. Congress that Colombia is responsible for some 75 percent of the world's cocaine production; 90 percent of the cocaine entering the United States is produced in Colombia or passes through Colombia. The country is also a significant source of heroin in the United States. The State Department said 50,000 U.S. drug-related deaths occurred in 2000, and that the United States suffered $160 billion in economic losses in that same year due to illicit drug use.
U.S. policy toward Colombia, the State Department said in that same report, supports the Colombian government's efforts to strengthen its democratic institutions, to promote respect for human rights and the rule of law, to intensify counter-narcotics efforts, to foster socio-economic development, to address immediate humanitarian needs, and to end the threats to Colombian democracy posed by narcotics trafficking and terrorism.
Meanwhile, in another case involving Colombia, U.S. law enforcement officials announced that five "pallets" of liquefied heroin hidden in six-ounce liquid fruit juice boxes were intercepted from the South American nation. Pallets are platforms on which goods are placed for storage or transporting.
In a November 3 statement issued in Miami, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency said the heroin had a total weight of 38 kilograms, with a wholesale value of more than $1.7 million.
The product, labeled as "Hit Fruit Drink," never made it to any public markets where it could have been sold for consumption, ICE said. The Colombia-based Hit Corporation and its facilities were not involved in the repackaging of the drink boxes or the smuggling attempt itself, said the agency.
ICE said its officers and those from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency identified and intercepted the private shipment from Colombia after receiving an anonymous tip.
"ICE is investigating this case to track and apprehend the drug traffickers responsible," said Jesus Torres, the agency's special agent-in-charge in Miami.
"Ingesting liquid heroin like this is typically fatal, so we're very concerned that it would be disguised in a convenience package widely used for products marketed for children," said Torres. "Unfortunately, the actions of reckless drug traffickers taint legitimate companies like the Hit Corporation."
ICE said its agents believe the juice was initially purchased from a grocery store in Colombia. The juice containers were then emptied and refilled with the heroin, after which the shipment was relabeled and put alongside legitimate boxes of Colombian fruit juice and then shipped to the United States. A field test revealed that nearly 100 juice boxes contained heroin, said ICE.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=November&x=20041104160053AEneerG0.9401209&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
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