Colombia extradites FARC commander "Sonia" to US
A top commander of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC),
"Sonia," was extradited to the United States on Wednesday in an
operation ordered by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.
"Sonia," 37, whose real name is Omaira Rojas Cabrera, was handed over to
agents of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) at Barranquilla Airport,
north Colombia, and taken aboard an official plane to a place not
disclosed in the United States.
She wore cuffs on her feet and hands and a bullet-proof vest and helmet
to protect her from possible attack. A huge security operation
accompanied her transfer, with war tanks and mounted police surrounding
and constant helicopter flying over.
Sonia is the second top FARC leader extradited to the United States to
face drug trafficking charges after Ricardo Palmera, who was extradited
on Dec. 31.
She is wanted by a district court in the District of Columbia to face
trial under charges of criminal association to import, make and
distribute 5 kg or more of cocaine in the United States.
In Colombia, she is accused of sending more than 600 tons of cocaine to
the United States and Europe since 1994 and taking part in the 1996
assault on a military base in which 27 soldiers were killed and 60
kidnapped.
In remarks to radio RCN just before being handed over to US agents,
Sonia insisted on her innocence and said she would return to Colombia
after proving it.
"I feel calm and I am not the person they are accusing ... and I know
nothing of that, or of that job (drug trafficking)," she said.
According to Sonia, who was captured by Colombian authorities in
February 2004, US officials wanted to cut a deal with her but she
refused because she was supposed to accuse FARC of drug trafficking.
The FARC is the principal Colombian insurgent organization, with at
least 17,000 combatants. The FARC demands that all its prisoners be
released and had asked that Ricardo Palmera be returned to Colombia.
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