Paraguay Extradites Major FARC Leader

On June 28, 2005, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Karen P. Tandy announced that the Government of Paraguay had extradited suspected drug trafficker Ivan Carlos Mendes-Mesquita to the United States. In September 2004, a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colombia returned an indictment against Mr. Mendes-Mesquita for violation of 21 U.S.C. § 959, conspiracy to manufacturer and distribute for purposes of unlawful importation. In November 2004, Paraguay law enforcement officials arrested Mendes-Mesquita on his ranch in Northeastern Paraguay, which was used as his base of operations for cocaine trafficking activities. While executing the warrant, the officers seized a twin-engine aircraft containing 500 kilograms of cocaine...[more]