Colombian paramilitary member pleads not guilty in cocaine-for-arms deal

Source: International Herald Tribune/Associated Press

Colombian paramilitary member pleads not guilty in cocaine-for-arms deal
The Associated Press
Published: May 23, 2008

HOUSTON: A member of a Colombian right-wing paramilitary group pleaded not guilty Friday to participating in an attempt to acquire anti-aircraft missiles, grenade launchers and other powerful weapons in exchange for $25 million (€15.9 million) worth of cocaine.

An attorney for Diego Alberto Ruiz Arroyave entered the plea during an arraignment hearing. U.S. Magistrate Judge Calvin Botley ordered that Ruiz be held without bond, saying he was a flight risk.

Ruiz was one of 14 right-wing paramilitaries from the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish initials, AUC, who were nabbed in a surprise pre-dawn operation last week.
(snip)

Ruiz was one of six men who participated in the plot, the indictment said. Four of those indicted, including two high ranking "commandantes" of the AUC, have pleaded guilty in the case.

Prosecutors say that from September 2001 until November 2002, the men met in Houston, Mexico City, London, Bogota, Colombia and other locations with an undercover police officer and an FBI confidential informant to hammer out a deal for the weapons.


Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/23/america/NA-GEN-US-Colombian-Paramilitaries.php

or a rebel? They didn't mention FARC, so I'm thinking the former.

He should have known not to cross his bosses and attempt to horn in on their cash cow.

(Media-Newswire.com) - HOUSTON, Texas ) - Diego Alberto Ruiz-Arroyave, aka "El Primo," age 46, was extradited from Colombia on May 12, 2008, to face charges of conspiracy to provide material support and resources to the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia ( AUC ), a foreign terrorist organization, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. Ruiz-Arroyave is one of 14 persons extradited by the Colombian government to face a variety of charges in a number of districts that arrived aboard a flight originating from Colombia and arriving in Miami, Fla., in the early morning hours of May 13, 2008. Ruiz-Arroyave is expected to be transferred to the Southern District of Texas to face the charges pending against him in Houston.

The charges against Ruiz-Arroyave are the result of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force ( OCDETF ) Operation White Terror focused on a $25 million arms-for-cocaine deal which lead to the indictment of four persons in December 2002. Two of the four defendants originally charged - Elkin Alberto Arroyave-Ruiz and Edgar Fernando Blanco Puerta - were high ranking "Commandantes" of the AUC, a paramilitary organization originally designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States Secretary of State on Sept. 10, 2001. The four original defendants and three others subsequently indicted were convicted for their part in a 2001 arms-for-cocaine deal. A total of 11 persons have been indicted and convicted in this district as a result of Operation White Terror.

According to pleadings filed in this case on Oct. 14, 2004, a grand jury in the Southern District of Texas returned a superceding indictment charging Javier Conrado Alvarez-Correa and Ruiz-Arroyave with conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B. Alvarez-Correa and Ruiz-Arroyave were allegedly the key intermediaries between another now convicted co-conspirator and Jose Miguel Arroyave-Ruiz, the leader of the AUC's Centaurus Block and cousin of Diego Alberto Ruiz-Arroyave, in the $25 million arms-for-cocaine deal. The co-conspirator allegedly worked with Ruiz-Arroyave to coordinate the exchange of weapons and through Alvarez-Correa to communicate with the AUC's Centarus Block leader. According to press reports, Miguel Arroyave-Ruiz was killed by his own troops on Sept. 19, 2004, for participating in talks to demobilize the AUC.
This case is the result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation conducted by the Houston offices of the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Vaden and Stuart A. Burns.

http://media-newswire.com/release_1066604.html

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Right-wing Colombian paramilitary appears in court
By JUAN A. LOZANO,AP
Posted: 2008-05-16 17:44:55

HOUSTON (AP) - A member of a right-wing paramilitary group who was extradited from Colombia made his first appearance in Houston federal court Friday on a charge he participated in a $25 million arms-for-cocaine deal.

Diego Alberto Ruiz Arroyave was one of 14 right-wing paramilitaries nabbed in a surprise pre-dawn operation this week and brought to the United States to face charges of supporting a terrorist organization and drug trafficking. Many of the others made their court appearances earlier in New York, Washington, Miami and Tampa, Fla.

During a brief court hearing, Ruiz appeared before a federal magistrate judge on a charge of conspiring to provide material support and resources to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish initials, AUC. The U.S. has listed the group a terrorist organization.
(snip)

But Colombian President Alvaro Uribe decided to extradite the 14 men this week, saying they were still committing crimes from Colombian prisons, were not cooperating with authorities and had failed to pay restitution to victims.

However, a U.S.-based human rights organization, in a letter it sent Friday to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, echoed the concerns raised by many victims of the private militias - that the extraditions could undermine investigations already under way in Colombia into paramilitary atrocities.

"Given these concerns, we believe it is vital that the United States play its part in the investigation and prosecution of these men in a way that encourages them to continue revealing the full scope of their criminal activities," Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, wrote in the letter.

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/right-wing-colombian-paramilitary/n20080516174409990013



Columbian Diego Alberto Ruiz Arroyave is led out of the federal courthouse Friday, May 16, 2008 in Houston. A member of a right-wing paramilitary group, Ruiz was extradited from Colombia and made his first appearance in court on a charge he participated in a $25 million arms-for-cocaine deal.
(AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

But now I'm thinking he used to work for the gubmint, then they were done with him and didn't know what else to do but lock him up.

"Many victims of the private militias and human rights activists are concerned the extraditions could undermine investigations in Colombia into paramilitary atrocities."