May 13, 2008 3:42 pm US/Eastern
Colombian Top Narco-Traffickers Extradited To U.S.
Will Face Cocaine Trafficking Charges In The U.S.
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
More than a dozen of Colombia's most notorious narco-traffickers have been extradited to several U.S. cities, including Miami, to face drug trafficking charges.
The 14 men, including Diego Fernando Murillo, Hernán Giraldo, Salvatore Mancuso, and Rodrigo Tovar Pupo were put on planes bound for New York, Miami, and Washington D.C. early Tuesday.
"Most of the top bosses are there," Colombian Interior Minister Carlos Holguin told local radio.
Colombia's government made the decision to allow their extradition after claiming the men continued to commit crimes while locked behind bars.
Colombia's right-wing paramilitaries have been accused of many thousands of killings as well as drug-trafficking and money-laundering.
Last week, jailed paramilitary boss Carlos Mario Jimenez, known as Macaco, was extradited to the U.S. He's was also accused of continuing to run his drug gangs from behind bars.
Jimenez had been among the least cooperative in confessing to his crimes, and his extradition followed a court challenge by victims who argued it would help him evade justice.
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