Colombia: 'Drug Lords' Getting Free Pass on Worse Crimes?

[Judi Lynn]

Published on Saturday, March 7, 2009 by Inter Press Service
Colombia: 'Drug Lords' Getting Free Pass on Worse Crimes?

by Ali Gharib

WASHINGTON - Yet another of Colombia’s top paramilitary leaders was extradited to the U.S. Thursday to be brought up on drug trafficking charges despite the objections of some rights groups and questions raised by Colombian politicians visiting Washington.

Éver Veloza García was put on a plane for New York by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, making him the 15th high-ranking paramilitary leader to be extradited.

After decades of violent conflict, some of those active in Colombian affairs worry that the singular focus of the U.S. on prosecuting drug crimes could prevent the truth from coming out about human rights abuses, the paramilitaries’ collusion with the government, and answers to questions about the locations of mass graves and stolen lands.

Being in U.S. custody cuts off the paramilitary leaders from Colombian access, and some observers suspect that, amid a political scandal connecting his supporters to the paramilitaries, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe may be whitewashing the record.

"A lot of the truth about Colombia’s conflict left the country when these guys were extradited," said Adam Isaacson of the Centre for International Policy (CIP), noting that while other Colombians have tried to gain access to the men, Uribe’s diplomatic corps have "not been asking about any of this."

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/03/07-7