CUBA DEPORTS MAJOR DRUG SUSPECT

BOGOTA, Colombia - Cuba deported reputed drug kingpin Luis Hernando Gomez
Bustamante to Colombia, which plans to extradite him to the United States
to face trafficking and money laundering charges, officials said Thursday.

Gomez, an alleged boss of the Norte del Valle cartel known by his alias
"Rasguno," had been held in Cuba since his 2004 arrest at Havana's main
airport. He fled Colombia after Washington offered a $5 million reward for
the capture of that country's top drug traffickers.

Cuba's government said Gomez was turned over to Colombian authorities
Thursday at Havana's international airport. Oscar Galvis, a spokesman for
the Colombia's DAS intelligence agency, confirmed to The Associated Press
that Gomez arrived in Colombia on an air force flight from Cuba.

The Cuban statement did not mention Colombia's plans for Gomez. Cuba has no
extradition treaty with the United States and harbors some suspects wanted
in the United States who are considered political refugees here.

But a Colombian official said Wednesday that an order had already been
signed to send Gomez to the United States. He spoke on condition of
anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge the information.

Gomez is wanted on a U.S. indictment in New York on drug trafficking,
racketeering and money-laundering charges.