COLOMBIAN CARTEL FIGURE IN U.S. COURT

NEW YORK -- The alleged leader of one of Colombia's most powerful drug
cartels was brought into a U.S. court for the first time yesterday to face
cocaine-trafficking charges.

Alberto Orlandez Gamboa arrived in New York under tight security Saturday
after Colombian President Andres Pastrana and his Cabinet approved his
extradition, despite death threats by drug dealers.

Appearing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Gamboa, 44, sat impassively
as prosecutors portrayed him as the mastermind of a decade-long scheme to
smuggle an estimated 8 tons of cocaine worth more than $1 billion from
Colombia to the United States.