BOGOTA. – The authorities of Colombiain collaboration with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), extradited to the United States on Saturday, November 1, nine Colombian nationals linked to drug trafficking, including the leader of a gang linked to the former Mexican cartel of Los Zetas, currently known as the Northeast Cartel, according to the Executive.
“Our National Police, in coordination with the Interpol office and US authorities, today handed over nine Colombian citizens wanted for drug trafficking and conspiracy to commit a crime (…), among them, alias ‘Negro Frank’, who would have been second in command of the El Loco Barrera criminal organization and would have collaborated with Los Zetas of Mexico,” announced the minister of Defense, Pedro Sánchez, in a publication on the social network
According to the minister of President Gustavo Petro’s government, this example of collaboration “against transactional crime” represents an achievement that “reinforces the strategic alliance” between Colombia and the United States, “strengthening international cooperation in matters of justice and security.”
The measure came in the middle of the conflict between Petro and the president of the United States, Donald Trump, who accuses the Colombian president of “doing nothing” in the fight against drug trafficking.
Minister Sánchez also said that, with this step, “a clear message is sent to those who traffic in death: They will have no refuge or impunity in Colombia.”
In this context, the head of Defense reiterated the commitment of the national government to the protection of Colombians and democracy, ensuring that “those responsible for crimes will be held accountable before the law regardless of their international connection.”
Sanctions negotiation
On October 30, Colombian President Petro’s lawyer, Daniel Kovalik, said that the economic sanctions imposed by the United States Government against the leftist president and part of his entourage are “negotiable,” and that he will seek to resolve the case through diplomatic channels.
“Most of the time a case like this is resolved through negotiations or diplomacy… everything is negotiable,” said Kovalik in an interview with the AFP agency, in reference to the sanctions imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which block the assets and accounts of the president, his wife Verónica Alcocer, one of his children and the Minister of the Interior.
