Latest news with #FARC
Washington Post
a day ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Colombia suspends extradition of rebel leader wanted in the US for drug trafficking
BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombian President Gustavo Petro has suspended a rebel leader's extradition to the United States, arguing that his presence in Colombia is needed to advance peace talks that seek to disarm hundreds of fighters in a region bordering Venezuela. 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.
Associated Press
a day ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Colombia suspends extradition of rebel leader wanted in the US for drug trafficking
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro has suspended a rebel leader's extradition to the United States, arguing that his presence in Colombia is needed to advance peace talks that seek to disarm hundreds of fighters in a region bordering Venezuela. 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. But in a resolution published on June 26, and revealed by Colombian media on Tuesday, Petro ordered the suspension of Henao's extradition, mandating him to provide 'verifiable contributions and concrete results' to peace talks between the 33rd front and the Colombian government. The resolution says that if Henao fails to contribute to talks, he will be handed over to U.S. authorities. Henao, in Colombian government custody since February, is the second rebel leader to have his extradition suspended by Petro this year. In May, the government delayed the extradition of Gabriel Yepes Mejía, a commander of the Comuneros del Sur rebel group also facing drug trafficking charges. In June, Colombia's newly appointed justice minister, Eduardo Montealegre, told Colombian newspaper El Tiempo that the Petro administration would suspend the extradition of rebel leaders who agree to participate in peace talks — even if that strains relations with the United States. Henao was indicted by a Florida court in 2023 on drug trafficking and money laundering charges, with prosecutors alleging he conspired to ship 115 kilos (253 pounds) of cocaine to the U.S. The Petro administration and the U.S. government have often clashed over drug policy, with U.S. officials urging Colombia to do more to reduce coca crops and warning that future cooperation on security depends on concrete results in the fight against drug trafficking. Colombia's first leftist government has staged peace talks with numerous rebel groups and drug gangs in an effort to improve security in rural areas, where groups like the FARC-EMC have filled the void left by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the guerrilla group that made peace with the government in 2016. But the talks have yielded few results so far, with human rights groups saying that extortion, forced displacement and the recruitment of children are on the rise. ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
Reuters
2 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Colombia boosting troop footprint in renewed offensive against armed groups, admiral says
BUENAVENTURA, Colombia, June 30 (Reuters) - Colombia is increasing its troop numbers as part of a renewed offensive against illegal armed groups, the head of the country's armed forces said, after the end of a series of ceasefires and stalled peace negotiations. Leftist President Gustavo Petro took office in 2022 promising to pursue an end to six decades of conflict through peace accords and surrender deals with guerrillas and heavily armed crime gangs, but talks have faltered despite repeated temporary ceasefires. Petro has now ordered increased offensives against the Marxist National Liberation Army (ELN), five factions of former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels who reject that group's 2016 peace deal, the Clan del Golfo criminal group and other smaller gangs. "Today there is not one ceasefire, we are in a total military offensive to counteract those illegal armed groups and it's up to us to keep winning territory," Admiral Francisco Cubides, the overall commander of Colombia's armed forces, told Reuters in an interview on Saturday in the Pacific port city of Buenaventura. "Security begins with territorial control and that's where we are advancing. We have talked about increases in troops, increases in capacity and as we are able to do that, we are going to achieve more territorial control," Cubides said. Colombia's armed forces are in the process of gradually adding 16,000 new troops as training and funds become available, he said. The renewed offensive is focused on six regions - including the jungles of Catatumbo, along the northeastern border with Venezuela, and the mountains and jungle of the country's southwest - which are strategic areas for drug trafficking and illegal gold mining, armed groups' top sources of financing. All armed groups took advantage of the government's desire for peace to increase their territory, Cubides said, and boost their manpower, which has risen 45% over the last three years to around 22,000. Recent mass kidnappings, committed by civilians the government says are being forced by armed groups to hold soldiers hostage, have increased pressure on government troops. Fifty-seven soldiers held by civilians were rescued in El Plateado in Cauca province last week. The town, located near extensive plantations of coca, the base ingredient in cocaine, is the focus of an armed forces operation launched in October 2024 that is meant to push out a faction of dissident FARC rebels. That mass kidnapping followed a similar incident in the same region in March, in which 29 soldiers were freed after being held for several days. The government has promised huge investment in roads, schools, hospitals and public services in the area, but says the rebel presence has impeded the effort. "As we take away illegal industries from illegal armed groups and communities change, there will be real tranquility and the conditions to be able to transform the area," Cubides said.
Al Jazeera
7 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Former Venezuelan spymaster pleads guilty to US drug trafficking charges
A former director of Venezuelan military intelligence has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and narcoterrorism charges in a United States federal court, according to the Justice Department, a week before his trial was set to begin. Hugo Carvajal, who served in the country's late President Hugo Chavez's government from 2004 to 2011, pleaded guilty in a Manhattan federal court on Wednesday to four criminal counts including narcoterrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine and weapons charges. Federal prosecutors alleged the former major-general, along with other high-ranking Venezuelan government and military officials, led a drug cartel that attempted to 'flood' the US with cocaine. The cartel partnered with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a now demobilised armed group that the US once considered a 'terrorist' organisation, to produce and distribute cocaine, prosecutors alleged. In a letter this week to the defence counsel, prosecutors said they believe federal sentencing guidelines call for the 65-year-old to serve a mandatory minimum of 50 years in prison. 'The deeply troubling reality is that there are powerful foreign government officials who conspire to flood the United States with drugs that kill and debilitate,' Jay Clayton, the interim US lawyer in Manhattan, said in a statement. 'El Pollo' Nicknamed 'El Pollo', 'the chicken' in Spanish, Carvajal took part in the failed 1992 coup that lifted Chavez to political prominence and is considered one of the most powerful figures of the socialist leader's 1999-2013 rule. Carvajal then served as a diplomat representing current Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government before breaking with him to support the US-backed political opposition. Carvajal was extradited to the US from Spain in July 2023 following a more than 10-year effort by the Justice Department to bring him to US soil. Carvajal's sentencing is scheduled for October.
AsiaOne
24-06-2025
- Politics
- AsiaOne
57 soldiers rescued after being kidnapped in southwest Colombia, World News
BOGOTA — The Colombian army and police rescued 57 soldiers held for two days in a mountainous southwestern region that is under pressure from leftist guerrillas, the military said on X on Monday (June 23). The troops were detained near the village of El Plateado in Cauca province, a strategic area for drug trafficking where security forces launched an operation in October 2024 to expel illegal armed groups. The region is a stronghold of a dissident faction of the former FARC guerrilla group, which rejected a 2016 peace deal. Authorities accuse the group of recruiting minors and pressuring civilians to resist the presence of state forces. [[nid:719369]]
