Colombian rebels could escape extradition in peace deal

BOGOTA/HAVANA (Reuters) – A breakthrough in talks between Colombia’s government and Marxist guerrillas has raised hopes for a peace deal within six months and it may mean rebel leaders will avoid being extradited to face drug trafficking charges in the United States.

Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos

President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolu-tionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group agreed on Wednes-day to create special courts to try former combatants including guerrillas and also vowed to sign a peace deal by March to end five decades of war.

The thorny issue of extradition has not been resolved, however.

Sergio Jaramillo, the government’s peace commissioner, said the conditions under which rebels could be extradited will not be defined until the final peace deal is reached and he suggested the FARC would not agree to it.

“No one participates in a peace process and supports an agreement only to end up extradited, that’s obvious,” Jaramillo told a news conference in the Cuban capital Havana, where the sides have been negotiating.

“But it’s also obvious that they have to complete the conditions, some rules of the game, and that is what the final accord will contain.”

The US government backed the agreement reached this week, with Secretary of State John Kerry calling it “historic progress.”

Washington has spent billions of dollars on its anti-drugs efforts in Colombia, which is by some measures the world’s top cocaine producer. Its military aid helped weaken the FARC, pushing it to the negotiating table.

Rebels, drug traffickers and right-wing paramilitaries have all opposed extradition, which typically means long sentences far from their families and fewer opportunities to bribe officials for perks.

One of the US targets is FARC leader Rodrigo Londono, better known as “Timochenko”, who shared a historic handshake with Santos at the talks in Havana on Wednesday.

The State Department alleges Londono was involved in the manufacture and smuggling of hundreds of tons of cocaine and is offering $5 million for information leading to his arrest.