Drug Lord Faces Trial

Accused Of Supplying Tons Of Cocaine To U.S.

After years of evading courts in the United States, Fabio Ochoa, one of
Colombia's biggest cocaine barons, is due to face a judge in Miami today on
charges that he supplied 30 tons of drugs a week in the late 1990s to
American addicts.

The former Medellin cartel boss was extradited by Colombia on the weekend
and flown under armed guard to Miami international airport in a
military-style operation. After arriving before dawn, masked agents closed
down main roads between Miami airport and the city's fortress-like justice
building, where Ochoa, 45, was placed in a maximum security cell.

American and Colombian authorities are preparing themselves for violent
reactions in Colombia, where extradition has been the cause of political
violence in the past. The U.S. State Department has told Americans to be
especially alert for possible terrorist attacks and kidnappings.

The extradition of Ochoa has increased tension in Colombia, where peace
talks between the government and left-wing guerrillas appear to be on the
verge of breaking down. Colombian anti-terrorist police said Sunday that
they had foiled an assassination attempt against a popular right-wing
presidential candidate, Alvaro Uribe.

The plot allegedly involved a suitcase-bomb packed with explosives in
hollowed-out Bibles, which was to be detonated at one of Uribe's campaign
offices in the capital, Bogota.