06 December 2004
Colombia Extradites to U.S. One of World's Top Drug-Traffickers
U.S. Attorney General Ashcroft hails action
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Colombia has extradited to the United States one of the accused leaders of the Cali drug cartel, Gilberto Rodriguez-Orejuela, whom the Bush administration says is "arguably the highest-level drug-trafficking figure to ever occupy a U.S. prison cell."
In a December 3 statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami said Rodriguez-Orejuela, now in jail in that city, faces narcotics-trafficking and money-laundering charges in the state of Florida, where a four-count indictment was pending against him and 10 other named defendants, including his brother, Miguel Rodriguez-Orejuela. The two brothers are named in the U.S. attorney general's "Consolidated Priority Organization Target" list of the "World's Most Wanted" drug and money-laundering enterprises responsible for the most significant supply of drugs to the United States.
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said Gilberto Rodriguez-Orejuela is alleged to have trafficked in illegal drugs that "tear at the fabric of society and draw the innocent away from safe and productive lives," adding: "Those who violate [U.S.] federal drug laws should never believe that drug trafficking from outside our borders puts them beyond the reach of justice. Thanks to the hard work of law enforcement officers both here and abroad, Rodriguez-Orejuela will now stand trial for his actions."
Marcos Jimenez, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, said that at one time Gilberto Rodriguez-Orejuela and his organization were believed responsible for about 80 percent of the cocaine shipped to the United States as well as "countless murders and a "reign of terror in Colombia."
U.S. officials said the December 4 extradition of the Cali cartel leader "marks the beginning of the end of another chapter" of the U.S. and Colombian war against narco-traffickers.
Despite having been incarcerated since 1995 in a Colombian jail, U.S. officials said Rodriguez-Orejuela has continued to "wield significant influence" among cocaine-trafficking organizations in Colombia. The U.S. officials said the Colombian's extradition is a tribute to the "resolve of the government of Colombia," which worked with U.S. law enforcement agencies on a 14-year investigation known as "Operation Cornerstone" that has resulted in the seizure of almost 50,000 kilograms of cocaine and $15 million.
If convicted on the conspiracy drug-trafficking charges, Rodriguez-Orejuela and the other defendants in this case would face a maximum statutory sentence of life imprisonment on each of the four counts in the indictment. If convicted on the conspiracy money-laundering charge, the defendants named in that count would face a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years' imprisonment. The United States is also seeking $2.1 billion in profits stemming from the drug operation.
Meanwhile, in another development in the Western Hemisphere's fight against illegal drugs, anti-drug policymakers from the region will meet December 7-9 for a regular session of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), being held at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington.
Speakers at the session will include OAS Acting Secretary-General Luigi Einaudi and CICAD Chairman Paul Kennedy, who is also Canada's Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. CICAD is playing an active role in coordinating efforts to tackle the hemisphere's drug problems.
(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=December&x=20041206163427AEneerG0.1938135&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
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