Colombia Receives Drug Suspect Sought by U.S. and Jailed in Cuba

Colombia Receives Drug Suspect Sought by U.S. and Jailed in Cuba

By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr. and SIMON ROMERO
Published: February 10, 2007

MEXICO CITY, Feb. 9 — The leader of a Colombian drug cartel that American prosecutors say flooded New York City streets with cocaine remained in custody in Colombia on Friday awaiting extradition, after Cuba turned him over to the authorities there.

Cuba’s decision to send the suspect, Luis Hernando Gómez Bustamante, to Colombia surprised American authorities, law enforcement officials said. Cuba’s government has no diplomatic relations with the United States, and some people charged with crimes on American soil have found a haven in Havana.

Not Mr. Gómez Bustamante. He arrived in Bogotá late Thursday on a Colombian Air Force plane after Cuban authorities handed him over to Colombian antinarcotics agents.

Mr. Gómez Bustamante, the reputed boss of the Norte del Valle cartel who is known as Rasguño, had been held in Cuba since 2004, when he was arrested on immigration charges. He is wanted in New York City on charges of money laundering, racketeering and drug smuggling.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/world/americas/10cuba.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Faith Groups Tell Bush to Get Tough on Colombia
Haider Rizvi
OneWorld US
Sat., Feb. 10, 2007
NEW YORK, Feb 10 (OneWorld) - Wary of the fast-deteriorating human rights conditions in Colombia, church leaders and aid groups in the United States are calling for the Bush administration to reconsider its current policy toward Bogota.

"A strategy of military aid and fumigation will not result in lasting change or a sustainable peace in Colombia," they said in a petition sent this week to President George W. Bush, his administration's top officials, and members of the U.S. Congress.

The petition was signed by as many as 28 humanitarian organizations and more than 1,800 prominent religious leaders, most of whom are working closely with faith-based human rights groups in Colombia.

Signers of the petition said they were deeply concerned about the continued killings of priests and pastors involved in humanitarian efforts to assist victims of the crossfire among Colombia's armed forces, right-wing paramilitaries, and leftist guerillas.

In recent years, despite severe criticism from human rights organizations, the Bush administration has continued to defend its policy of relying on military aid to end political violence in Colombia and stem the flow of illegal drugs associated with it.
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http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/146021/1/