Colombia's former agriculture minister extradited 5 years after fleeing to US

by Adriaan Alsema July 12, 2019

United Stated authorities extradited Colombia’s former agriculture minister on Friday after a five-year attempt to evade a 17-year corruption sentence.

Former Minister Andres Felipe Arias was extradited after multiple failed attempts to request political asylum or block his extradition on claims his corruption conviction was part of a political conspiracy.

Arias served under president Alvaro Uribe between 2005 and 2009, when he resigned with hopes that he could succeed Uribe after the 2010 elections.

The former minister took advantage of his conditional liberty and fled the country in 2014, days before the Supreme Court sentenced him to prison for embezzling $25 million from the AIS fund.

This fund was meant to boost small farmers’ competitiveness to prepare them for a pending free trade agreement with the US, but instead ended up in the pockets of powerful regional elites that could sponsor his 2010 election bid.

More:
https://colombiareports.com/colombias-former-agriculture-minister-extradited-5-years-after-fleeing-to-us/