BOGOTA : Weighing A Drug Deal
Colombians are watching this week to see whether any of their country’s notorious cocaine barons will take up President Cesar Gaviria’s offer of reduced sentences and a guarantee against extradition for drug traffickers who turn themselves in, confess their crimes and cooperate with prosecutors.
The drug lords have repeatedly demanded an end to extraditions to the United States as a condition for ending sporadic and bloody campaigns of “narcoterrorism.” But they have never offered to surrender and confess in return.
While no kingpins are considered likely to take up Gaviria’s offer, the policy may at least entice lower-level traffickers to come in with information useful in the official war against bosses such as Pablo Escobar, leader of the so-called Medellin cartel.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
