Colombia drug kingpin extradited to US
AP, Bogota
Drug kingpin Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, wearing handcuffs and a bulletproof vest, flew late Friday aboard US government plane for trial in the United States, becoming the most powerful Colombian trafficker to ever be extradited to the United States. A phalanx of helmeted police armed with assault rifles escorted the leader of the once-feared Cali drug cartel to the plane at a military airfield on the edge of Bogota. It took off into the night sky minutes later. Top American and Colombian authorities hailed the extradition. "Every day judicial cooperation between our two countries is becoming more effective and more visible," Col. Oscar Naranjo, chief of Colombia's Judicial Police, told The Associated Press. "This means that the criminals will not find any sanctuary to evade justice." US Attorney General John Ashcroft said: "Those who violate federal drug laws should never believe that drug trafficking from outside our borders puts them beyond the reach of justice ... Rodriguez-Orejuela will now stand trial for his actions."
|
|
