Supreme Court of Colombia Halts Extradition of Drug Suspects to U.S.

Extradition of Colombians sought on drug charges in the United States was halted last week when Colombia’s Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional.

The court ruled unanimously Friday that a 1980 law ratifying the treaty was unconstitutional because it was signed not by then-President Julio Cesar Turbay but by one of his ministers, acting in his absence from the country. Colombia and the United States signed the treaty in September, 1979, in Washington.

The government began to authorize the extradition of Colombians wanted on drug charges in the United States after Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara Bonilla was murdered on April 30, 1984, apparently on orders from drug barons.

The drug kings reacted by making death threats against U.S. officials here and setting off a car bomb outside the U.S. Embassy in Bogota in November, 1984, killing one Colombian woman.

They also threatened judges handling extradition cases.

Several judges and magistrates have been assassinated over the past two years, most of them gunned down by unidentified killers.

Twenty Colombians, but none of the cocaine lords, have been extradited to the United States on drug charges.

Colombia is the world’s leading cocaine processing center and supplies about 75% of the estimated 110 metric tons of cocaine entering the United States each year.

Most of the judges interviewed after the court’s decision said the government of President Virgilio Barco has two options--ratify the 1980 law, or begin the whole legislative process over again, which would take months.