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Colombian ex-police chief flown to US to face drug charges | Colombian ex-police chief flown to US to face drug charges |
(30 days later) | |
A retired police general who served as chief of security for former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe has surrendered to the authorities and was flown to the US to face drug-trafficking charges. | A retired police general who served as chief of security for former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe has surrendered to the authorities and was flown to the US to face drug-trafficking charges. |
Mauricio Santoyo handed himself over to US agents and was flown to Dulles International airport in Virginia in a US government plane, authorities said. He was to appear before a federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, on Thursday, the local US attorney's office said in a statement. | Mauricio Santoyo handed himself over to US agents and was flown to Dulles International airport in Virginia in a US government plane, authorities said. He was to appear before a federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, on Thursday, the local US attorney's office said in a statement. |
An indictment in eastern Virginia charges Santoyo with conspiracy to export cocaine and alleges that he betrayed international counter-narcotics operations from 2002 to 2008. It claims he conducted unauthorised wiretaps on behalf of drug-traffickers and identified murder targets for them. | An indictment in eastern Virginia charges Santoyo with conspiracy to export cocaine and alleges that he betrayed international counter-narcotics operations from 2002 to 2008. It claims he conducted unauthorised wiretaps on behalf of drug-traffickers and identified murder targets for them. |
He is alleged to have received at least $5m (£3.2m) in return. | He is alleged to have received at least $5m (£3.2m) in return. |
Santoyo was Uribe's security chief from 2002 to 2005. | Santoyo was Uribe's security chief from 2002 to 2005. |
The case has been a major issue in Colombia, source of most of the cocaine sold in the US, because of Santoyo's privileged post in Uribe's government, which forged a peace pact with far-right militias, whose leaders included major drug-traffickers. | The case has been a major issue in Colombia, source of most of the cocaine sold in the US, because of Santoyo's privileged post in Uribe's government, which forged a peace pact with far-right militias, whose leaders included major drug-traffickers. |
Before being appointed to the post, Santoyo had run an anti-kidnapping unit in Medellin, where individuals under his command are alleged to have engaged in illegal wiretaps, including of two human rights activists who later disappeared. | Before being appointed to the post, Santoyo had run an anti-kidnapping unit in Medellin, where individuals under his command are alleged to have engaged in illegal wiretaps, including of two human rights activists who later disappeared. |
The US indictment alleges Santoyo betrayed the Colombian state on behalf of a criminal organisation called the Envigado Office, which in addition to engaging in drug-trafficking also provided "enforcers" including assassins. | The US indictment alleges Santoyo betrayed the Colombian state on behalf of a criminal organisation called the Envigado Office, which in addition to engaging in drug-trafficking also provided "enforcers" including assassins. |
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