> BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- The Colombian government sent 14 suspected
> paramilitary leaders to the United States on drug charges Tuesday after
> authorities said they violated a 2003 deal with the government.
>
>
> Rodrigo Tovar was one of 14 accused drug traffickers to be extradited
> Tuesday morning.
>
>
> "This morning, a group of citizens were extradited," President Alvaro
> Uribe said in a nationally televised address Tuesday. "Some of them had
> relapsed into their crimes ... others weren't cooperating with justice,
> and all had failed to compensate their victims."
>
> Authorities say the men were members of the outlawed United Self-Defense
> Forces of Colombia, or AUC, an organization that the United States
regards
> as one of the most powerful drug trafficking rings in the world and has
> labeled a terrorist organization.
>
> The men boarded a plane around 6:45 a.m. to face charges in Wa****ngton,
> Florida, New York and Texas.
>
> The defendants, who authorities say held various positions of power in
the
> drug ring, will face charges including conspiracy to im****t and
> manufacture cocaine, providing sup****t to a terrorist organization and
> money laundering.
>
> Under the terms of the original deal, Uribe said the Colombian
government
> agreed to freeze extradition to the United States and grant the
defendants
> light sentences if they confessed to their crimes and compensated their
> victims.
>
> Uribe said he agreed to extradition because authorities believed the men
> were dealing drugs from inside prison.
>
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> In exchange for their extradition to the United States, the Department
of
> Justice agreed not to seek life sentences.
>
> "These extraditions are yet another substantial step by the government
of
> Colombia, in partner****p with the United States, to hold accountable
those
> who sup****t terrorist organizations and send illegal drugs into this
> country," said U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey in a statement from
> the Drug Enforcement Administration.
>
> The 14 men, taken from three Colombian prisons, left for the United
States
> about 6:45 a.m., the Colombian government said. A plane carrying 11 of
> them landed late Tuesday afternoon in Miami, Florida. Another was flown
> directly to New York, while the two others were flown to Tampa, Florida.
>
> The DEA said they would make initial court appearances in the districts
> where they arrived in the United States.
>
> The defendants include Salvatore Mancuso Gomez, called "El Mono," once
> allegedly among the group's most senior leader****p. Some of the
defendants
> have already been indicted in the United States, including Diego
Fernando
> Murillo Bejarano, for allegedly conspiring to smuggle thousands of
> kilograms of cocaine into the U.S.
>
> Last week, Colombia extradited paramilitary boss Carlos Mario Jimenez
> Naranjo, also believed to be a former AUC leader, on drug-trafficking
> charges in the United States. Colombia claimed Jimenez had continued to
> traffic in drugs while in prison. His lawyer entered a not guilty plea
on
> his behalf.
>
> The AUC was formed as an umbrella organization for militias battling
> left-wing guerilla groups Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
> and the National Liberation Army (ELN). Both FARC and ELN are at war
with
> the Colombian government.
>
> Under the guise of protecting the Colombian public from these leftist
> rebel groups, the AUC committed numerous human rights abuses, according
to
> the U.S. State Department and Human Rights Watch.
>
> The abuses include "the massacre of hundreds of civilians, the forced
> displacement of entire villages and the kidnapping of political figures
to
> force recognition of AUC demands," then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin
> Powell said in 2001, when he designated the group a terrorist
> organization. The U.S. also considers FARC and ELN terrorist
> organizations.
>
> Dozens of current and former Colombian lawmakers have been linked to the
> AUC. Many others, including Uribe's second cousin, ex-Sen. Mario Uribe
> Escobar, are under investigation for alleged ties.
>
>
>
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