Colombia extradites rebel commander Rojas to US, sources say
Three police sources said Geovany Andres Rojas, known as Spider, was handed over under heavy security in Bogota.
(Adds details from handover, context in paragraphs 4-6) By Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA, Sept 25 (Reuters) — Colombia has extradited an alleged drug-trafficking leader from a dissident faction of the former FARC rebel group to the United States, three police sources told Reuters on Friday. The transfer marks the first extradition of a senior commander from an illegal armed group under President Abelardo De La Espriella, who took office in August.
Geovany Andres Rojas, better known as "Spider," is accused of leading the Border Commands faction of the National Coordinator of the Bolivarian Army (CNEB), one of several groups formed by ex-FARC fighters who rejected or abandoned a 2016 peace deal with the government. S. officials, the sources said. US prosecutors accuse Rojas of drug trafficking and criminal conspiracy tied to alleged operations in Colombia and Ecuador dating back to 2017.
De La Espriella, a 49-year-old right-wing lawyer, reversed the negotiation strategy of his predecessor, Gustavo Petro. Since taking office he scrapped peace talks with illegal armed groups, including some FARC dissident factions, and launched a military offensive to retake remote mountain and jungle territory. Authorities say those groups finance themselves through cocaine trafficking, illegal mining and extortion. com;)