Colombian drug lord seeks to speed up extradition
Source: Reuters
SAO PAULO, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The lawyer representing one of Colombia's most notorious drug kingpins will travel to the United States on Tuesday to try to speed up his potential extradition from Brazil. Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia, 44, was nabbed in a dawn raid on Aug. 7 at a luxurious mansion in a gated community outside of Sao Paulo, from where authorities say he oversaw a multibillion-dollar drug ring that stretched to Europe and the United States. Since his arrest, Ramirez Abadia has made it clear that he wants to be extradited to the United States, where he is wanted on drug trafficking charges and in connection with the murder of 15 people, including some police officers. His Brazilian lawyer, Sergio Alambert, told Reuters on Tuesday he planned to meet with U.S. officials in the coming days to try to accelerate the extradition process, which can take months or years. Alambert said Ramirez Abadia fears for his life if he is sent back to Colombia. Brazil's Supreme Court is studying the extradition request, but it is unclear if it will be granted. Some legal experts say Brazil might want to try Ramirez Abadia for money laundering before extraditing him to the United States. There are also some legal obstacles that could bog down the extradition process even further. U.S. prosecutors must agree not to seek the death penalty or life imprisonment before Ramirez Abadia could be extradited. Brazilian law prohibits the extradition of prisoners to countries where they could face life imprisonment or a death sentence. Ramirez Abadia -- nicknamed Chupeta, or Lollipop in Colombian Spanish -- gained notoriety in the 1990s as a leader of the Cali-based Norte del Valle cartel. He has already served prison time in Colombia, where authorities say he ordered the assassination of more than 300 people. Last weekend, Ramirez Abadia was transferred to a maximum-security prison in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, where he will be held until the Supreme Court rules on his extradition request.(Reporting by Guilherme Vieira)
| AlertNet news is provided by |  |
