Colombia suspends extradition of rebel leader wanted in the US for drug trafficking
Willington Henao Gutiérrez, known as 'Mocho Olmedo' is one of the leaders of the 33rd front of FARC EMC , a rebel group with around 400 fighters that operates in the northeastern Catatumbo region. He is wanted in the U.S. for drug trafficking and money laundering and his extradition was approved by Colombia's Supreme Court in May.
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CBS News
42 minutes ago
- CBS News
Drone "narco sub" — equipped with Starlink antenna — seized for the first time in the Caribbean
Combating narco-subs and narco-terrorism in the U.S. and abroad The Colombian navy on Wednesday announced its first seizure of an unmanned "narco sub" equipped with a Starlink antenna off its Caribbean coast. The semisubmersible vessel was not carrying drugs, but the Colombian navy and Western security sources based in the region told AFP they believed it was a trial run by a cocaine trafficking cartel. "It was being tested and was empty," a naval spokeswoman confirmed to AFP. Manned semi-submersibles built in clandestine jungle shipyards have been used for decades to ferry cocaine north from Colombia, the world's biggest cocaine producer, to Central America or Mexico. But in recent years, they have been sailing much further afield, crossing the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The latest find, announced by Admiral Juan Ricardo Rozo at a press conference, is the first reported discovery in South American waters of a drone narco sub. The navy said it was owned by the Gulf Clan, Colombia's largest drug trafficking group and had the capacity to transport 1.5 tons of cocaine. A low-profile unmanned semi-submersible vessel sits between two Colombian Navy boats off the coast of Tayrona Park near Santa Marta, Colombia, on July 2, 2025. Colombian Navy Press Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images The Gulf Clan is one of several cartels recently designated as foreign terrorist groups by the United group's "primary source of income is from cocaine trafficking, which it uses to fund its paramilitary activities," according to the U.S. State Department. A video released by the navy showed a small grey vessel with a satellite antenna on the bow. This is not the first time a Starlink antenna has been used at sea by suspected drug traffickers. In November, Indian police seized a giant consignment of meth worth $4.25 billion in a vessel steered remotely by Starlink near the remote Andaman and Nicobar islands. It was the first known discovery of a narco sub operated by Starlink. Floating "coffins" Cocaine production, seizures and use all hit record highs in 2023, the U.N. drug agency said last month. In Colombia, production has reached record levels, fuelled by surging global demand. Rozo said the use of autonomous subs reflected the traffickers "migration toward more sophisticated unmanned systems" which are hard to detect at sea, "difficult to track by radar and even allow criminal networks to operate with partial autonomy." Juana Cabezas, a researcher at Colombia's Institute for Development and Peace Studies, told AFP that powerful Mexican drug cartels, who operate in Colombia, "hired technology experts and engineers to develop an unmanned submarine" as far back as 2017. She pointed out that drone vessels made it harder for the authorities to pinpoint the drug lords behind the shipments. "Removing the crew eliminates the risk of captured operators cooperating with authorities," agreed Henry Shuldiner, an investigator for the U.S.-based InSight Crime think tank, who co-authored a report on the rise of narco subs. Shuldiner also highlighted the challenge of assembling crews to sail makeshift subs described as floating "coffins." The journey can be deadly: In 2023, a "narco sub" with two dead bodies and nearly three tons of cocaine aboard was seized off the coast of Colombia. A submarine with two dead bodies and nearly three tons of cocaine aboard was seized in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Colombia, officials said. Colombia Navy A near record number of the low-profile vessels were intercepted in the Atlantic and Pacific in 2024, according to the report. In November last year, five tons of Colombian cocaine were found on a semi-submersible en route to faraway Australia. Colombian law punishes the use, construction, marketing, possession, and transportation of semi-submersibles with penalties of up to 14 years in prison. Though commonly spotted off the coast of Colombia, narco subs have been intercepted across the globe in recent months. Just last week, the Mexican navy seized 3.5 tons of cocaine hidden in a semisubmersible vessel off the Pacific coast, while releasing video of the "narco sub" being intercepted. In March, Portuguese police said forces had confiscated nearly 6.5 tons of cocaine from a semi-submersible vessel off the remote Azores archipelago that was bound for the Iberian peninsula. In January, a suspected narco sub broke in two pieces as a fishing boat was towing it to a port in northwest Spain.
CBS News
13 hours ago
- CBS News
20-year-old Venezuelan migrant in ICE custody "detained without cause," NYC Law Department says
New York City's Law Department is taking a stand to support a 20-year-old Venezuelan migrant and former Queens high school student who was arrested and detained by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement agents last month. José Luis Rojas Figuera was leaving an immigration hearing at a Lower Manhattan courthouse when it happened, and he's now in an upstate detention center. His situation bears a strong resemblance to the case of a 20-year-old Bronx student named "Dylan," who was detained at immigration court on May 21, an arrest that sparked chaotic protests in the city. "He was surrounded by masked ICE agents" Paige Austin, an attorney with the group Make the Road New York, is working to get her client released from what she claims was a trap. Figuera went to 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan for a scheduled appointment on June 2. He was detained as he left the immigration courtroom, Austin said. "He was surrounded by masked ICE agents, who quickly detained him, and they put him into detention," Austin said. Read more: NYC lawmakers say they were denied access to ICE facility at Federal Plaza City attorneys have joined his fight, arguing that he is being "detained without cause and in violation of his right to due process." Mayor Eric Adams said the city supports him and has filed a brief backing his petition for release. "We will continue to fight to ensure that people going through the legal process are protected under the law," Adams said in a statement. Who is José Luis Rojas Figuera? Figuera, who for about a year was enrolled at Pan-American High School in Elmhurst, has no criminal history and is pursuing a pathway to a green card, his attorney says. "José is a warm, friendly, very family-oriented young person," Austin said. "He did have to leave school several months ago in order to support his family. He has never gotten into any trouble in his life. He doesn't have any criminal history. There's simply no reason that immigration would decide that he's someone who needs to be in a jail." Some community leaders said they are seeing a culture of fear spread across New York City. Dr. Iesha Sekouis CEO and founder of Street Corner Resources. "My organization has worked with the Immigrant community," Sekou said. "We see the fear. We feel the vibration of the fear. We need to be treating them with human dignity." CBS News New York reached out to ICE, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Attorney's Office, but did not hear back.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Washington Post
Venezuelan lawmakers declare UN human rights chief persona non grata
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela's ruling party-controlled National Assembly on Tuesday declared Volker Türk , the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, persona non grata, criticizing the U.N. official for failing to protect the rights of Venezuelan migrants deported by the Trump administration to a prison in El Salvador.
