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Colombia to extradite two paramilitary chiefs to
US
The Colombian government on Wednesday agreed to
extradite two leaders of the disbanded
paramilitary group -- the United Self-Defense
Forces of Colombia (AUC) -- to the United
States.
According to local media reports, the Supreme
Court has signed the order to extradite
Francisco Zuluaga, also known as Gordolindo (Fatbeauty),
in Itagui maximum security prison in
northeastern Colombia; and Victor Mejia, who is
on the run since on Sept. 20, 2006.
The District of Colombia court said that Mejia,
head of the AUC's Arauca Victors Bloc, is
alleged to export 14 tons of cocaine to the U.S.
between 1998 and 2003.
Zuluaga headed the AUC's Pacific Bloc, the court
added.
The Colombian government began talks with the
AUC on July 1, 2004, and 31,395 paramilitaries
have been disarmed since then. The AUC has asked
to restrict sentences against its chiefs to five
to eight years.
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