Landless Workers occupy
Colombian Drug Lord's
Farm
Hundreds of members of
the Landless Workers
Movement (MST) Monday
occupied a farm owned by
Colombian drug lord Juan
Carlos Ramirez Abadia,
arrested in August 2007
by the Brazilian police.
Around 300 families took
over the land during the
morning, arguing that
the farm was acquired
with illegal gains and
should be used to help
the government fulfill a
target to settle 1,000
families by April.
Police officers said
they were studying ways
to evict the farmers
peacefully but refused
to give further details.
The government sold the
129-hectare property at
a public auction Monday.
The Finca farm is
located in Guaiba, in
the state of Rio Grande
do Sul, southern Brazil,
and its market value is
estimated at 1.7 million
reais (935,000 U.S.
dollars), but it was
sold at 850,000 reais
(467,000 dollars) to a
bidder.
The international drug
lord, one of the leaders
of the Norte Del Valle
Cartel, was charged with
over 300 murders and
trafficking over 1,000
tons of cocaine into
U.S. territory. He is
trying to avoid trial in
Brazil and begin
confinement in the
United States.
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