Via the BBC: Cali cartel boss extradited to US
The former head of the Cali drug cartel, once one of the most powerful drugs traffickers in the world, has been extradited to the US.Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, having exhausted all possible appeals, was handed over to agents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
He faces charges of drugs trafficking and money laundering.
[...]
At 61 years old and facing more than 20 years in prison, he may never see Colombia again.
Miguel, along with his brother Gilberto, who was extradited last year, headed the Cali drug cartel and built it up into a billion-dollar enterprise, shipping hundreds of tons of cocaine to the US.
Miguel was captured in 1995, when extradition was banned in Colombia.
It was reinstated in 1997, and to get their hands on the Cali drug lord, the DEA had to prove that Rodriguez Orejuela continued to run his criminal empire from prison.
While not as well know, the Rodriguez Orejuela brothers were every bit as big as Pablo Escobar in the Colombian cocaine business.
The continued extradition of major players in the Colombian drug business represents an ongoing signal of the willingness of the Uribe administration to work with the United States and also, as I have noted before, underscores Uribes’s popularity in Colombia. There have been circumstances in the past where such extraditions would have caused huge problems for Colombian presidents, who would have been seen as weak and as acquiescing to the Yanquis for sending Colombian citizens abroad for justice.
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March 16th, 2005 at 8:19 am
Around The Blogosphere #22
The “Jawa-Patriot” edition in the continuing saga of interesting and thought provoking news from around the web. There’s sure to be something you’ve missed around the blogosphere. (All links open in a new window for faster cruising) Congratulations…