News (Media Awareness Project) - Colombia: Wire: Reno Urges Colombia On Extradition |
| Title: | Colombia: Wire: Reno Urges Colombia On Extradition |
| Published On: | 1999-03-04 |
| Source: | Associated Press |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-06 11:52:32 |
RENO URGES COLOMBIA ON EXTRADITION
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) Attorney General Janet Reno gently prodded Colombia on
Thursday to resume extraditing jailed drug suspects for trial in the United
States.
Extradition has been one of Washington's top priorities in Colombia, where
drug traffickers have used violence, threats and bribery to obtain more
lenient sentences than they would in the United States.
In a speech at the Bogota Lawyers' Club concluding a two-day visit, Reno
asked Colombians to consider how they would feel if the United States
refused to extradite U.S. nationals who had committed crimes in Colombia.
"If we are going to build a hemisphere of trust, we have got to realize that
cases are best prosecuted where the crime was committed," she said.
Reno did not mention any specific drug suspects publicly. However, chief
prosecutor Alfonso Gomez said Colombia had arrested four drug suspects
wanted for extradition by the United States. He said Colombia's government
and Supreme Court had not yet acted on those requests.
In December 1997, Colombia enacted a constitutional reform reinstating
extradition, which had been outlawed since 1991. But no Colombian drug
suspects have been extradited to the United States under the new law.
Reno's visit came less than a week after Washington fully certified
Colombia's cooperation in the war on drugs for the first time since 1995.
The country is the source of 80 percent of the cocaine and a rising share of
the heroin sold in the United States.
The U.S. decision underscored a warming in relations between the countries
since President Andres Pastrana took office last year, replacing
scandal-plagued Ernesto Samper.
In her speech, Reno also urged more effective cooperation against
international criminals who avoid justice systems by using electronic
transactions and by moving rapidly from one country to the next.
"With cybernetics, a man can sit in a kitchen in St. Petersburg, Russia, and
steal from a bank in New York through tapping into its computer," she said.
"Borders mean nothing anymore."
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) Attorney General Janet Reno gently prodded Colombia on
Thursday to resume extraditing jailed drug suspects for trial in the United
States.
Extradition has been one of Washington's top priorities in Colombia, where
drug traffickers have used violence, threats and bribery to obtain more
lenient sentences than they would in the United States.
In a speech at the Bogota Lawyers' Club concluding a two-day visit, Reno
asked Colombians to consider how they would feel if the United States
refused to extradite U.S. nationals who had committed crimes in Colombia.
"If we are going to build a hemisphere of trust, we have got to realize that
cases are best prosecuted where the crime was committed," she said.
Reno did not mention any specific drug suspects publicly. However, chief
prosecutor Alfonso Gomez said Colombia had arrested four drug suspects
wanted for extradition by the United States. He said Colombia's government
and Supreme Court had not yet acted on those requests.
In December 1997, Colombia enacted a constitutional reform reinstating
extradition, which had been outlawed since 1991. But no Colombian drug
suspects have been extradited to the United States under the new law.
Reno's visit came less than a week after Washington fully certified
Colombia's cooperation in the war on drugs for the first time since 1995.
The country is the source of 80 percent of the cocaine and a rising share of
the heroin sold in the United States.
The U.S. decision underscored a warming in relations between the countries
since President Andres Pastrana took office last year, replacing
scandal-plagued Ernesto Samper.
In her speech, Reno also urged more effective cooperation against
international criminals who avoid justice systems by using electronic
transactions and by moving rapidly from one country to the next.
"With cybernetics, a man can sit in a kitchen in St. Petersburg, Russia, and
steal from a bank in New York through tapping into its computer," she said.
"Borders mean nothing anymore."
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