Colombian Extradition to the U.S. of Ochoa and 2 Others Progresses

On August 26, 2001, the Colombian President Andrés Pastrana and his Justice Minister Rómulo González approved the extradition to the United States of Fabio Ochoa Vásquez, the little brother of the Ochoa brothers, and two other Colombians. However, on August 31, 2001, a Bogota judge temporarily suspended the extradition of Ochoa. On a radio program Martha Nieves Ochoa, the sister of Fabio Ochoa, announced he would appeal the decision. Meanwhile, Mr. Marulanda, chief of the FARC, a leftist guerrilla organization, said the decision to extradite Ochoa was a great injustice. The Colombia Government said it has taken necessary measures to avoid a violent reaction towards the extraditions. Armado Estrada Villa, the Minister of Interior, confirmed this. If he decides to extradite the Colombians, it is because he had taken the necessary precautions so that it would not mean an altercation from public order nor revive terrorist acts that have occurred in other times due to narcotics trafficking…[more]