World IN BRIEF : COLOMBIA : Cocaine Cartel Asks Ban on Extraditions

Medellin cartel bosses asked members of the assembly preparing to rewrite Colombia’s constitution to outlaw extraditions to the United States. The cocaine exporters, in a statement issued in Bogota on “The Extraditables” letterhead, said that recent killings were not meant to intimidate the body. Authorities have blamed the cartel for murdering two of four hostages: Diana Turbay, daughter of a former president and magazine publisher, and Marina Montoya, the sister of Colombia’s ambassador to Canada. The statement said the organization was “respectfully” requesting that extraditions be prohibited by the new constitution.